


Paved With Good Intentions

by nOTION_Y



Series: I Was In Pieces, You Were The Glue [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chara and Frisk Share a Body, Child Death, Gen, Magic-User Frisk/Chara, POV Multiple, POV Second Person, Soft Chara, Sorta kinda, Spoilers - No Mercy Route, Suicide, Temporary Character Death, a lot of people make mistakes and everyone suffers the consequences, but still mostly follows the canon, but that's undertale for ya, it has to get worse before it gets better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-06-09 07:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 27,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6895075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nOTION_Y/pseuds/nOTION_Y
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A child falls into the Underground. Nobody is pleased with this arrangement.</p><p>Also known as "The one where Sans makes a few snap judgments that end up ruining everything."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Toriel

You were quite fed up with it all, really.

You had eight children once, though not at the same time. Most of them never met each other. But you were their mother all the same. You loved them all like a mother would and they loved you back in kind.

And they were all dead. One after the other.

And it broke your heart every single time. In your darkest moments you wished the repeated loss would harden you. Would callous your heart, make the grief easier to bear. Instead the pain redoubled every time. Like picking at a scab, it only made things worse.

And it only hurt worse knowing the part that you played in their deaths. Knowing you could only briefly shelter them, knowing you could only barely prepare them for the journey to the castle they each chose to make.

Knowing you were sending them to die at the hands of your husband for the sake of monster-kind.

You hoped they wouldn't. You told yourself each time that maybe, maybe, this child would make it out alright.

You never believed it though. After all, that's why you never asked for their names.

The names of your first two were already enough to haunt your dreams. The image of your son crumbling to dust over the corpse of his adopted sibling was burnt into your mind night after night. Each morning you'd jolt awake with tears in your eyes and the names of the two on your lips. You were both saddened and relieved you couldn't call for the names of the others.

You had eight children once, and the eighth had fallen yesterday. Isolated as you were in the Ruins, the rumors still flitted past your ears from the few monsters that lived there. It sickened you to hear the joy, the hope in their voices. _One more soul_ , you'd hear them say. _Only one more soul and we’ll be free_. As if the sacrifice for their hopes and dreams wasn't the lives of innocent children.

 _Seven souls_ , you think, as you trudge miserably from the door that led to the rest of the Underground. _Seven souls to break the barrier_. You walk past your house, entering the area you used to train the humans. _Seven souls to free monster-kind_.

 _But why must they be children!_ Your barely controlled rage bubbles over as your fire magic lashes out, incinerating the puzzles in the room. _Are we so desperate to see the surface that we are content with the murder of CHILDREN!?_ Flaming paws chased away the ruin's residents, errant fireballs smashed into the walls leaving deep gash-like scorch marks. _Are we so eager to return to a place that once cast us out that we'd forget our morals!?_  A swipe of your paw left a training dummy burnt to cinders. _That we'd force these young ones to fight for their lives!?_ Your foot smashes down and the cracked ground shatters, bits and pieces falling to the floor below. _That we'd harm the ones who deserve PROTECTION more than anything else!?_  Flames annihilated switches, toppled down doors, consumed fallen leaves, and melted down spikes. And finally, your rage entirely spent, you paced listlessly towards the bed of flowers at the end of the ruins.

You reach the softly lit patch of ground where the first human child had fallen, nearly a century ago. Where the body of your adopted child lay buried. You collapsed in tears in front of their grave.

"In the end," you mutter between choking sobs. "I couldn't protect a single one of you, could I?"

You had eight children once, and you'd lost them all.

In a bed of golden flowers, with the last of your resolve, you quietly made a promise.

You would die before you lost another.


	2. Falling Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A child wakes up very confused.

You remember being lost in the emptiness.

It wasn't a cold sort of emptiness, it was like the void was blanketing you, comforting you. Allowing yourself to forget everything, your failures, your regrets, your horrible horrible self.

You could feel yourself falling asleep, falling asleep, falling, falling

**_f_ **

**_a_ **

**_l_ **

**_l_ **

**_i_ **

**_n_ **

**_g_ **

 

 

 

For a long long while you feel nothing.

Then you feel  **e v e r y t h i n g** .

You wake up in a bed of nightmares.

You open the eyes you don't have and scream with a voice you lost years ago.

You clamber away from the golden flowers, arms flailing because somehow you’re still falling. Even though you can feel the soil underneath you, you know you’re still falling. Your palms press against your forehead as you struggle with memories that don’t belong to you. 

The flowers behind you remind you of death. They were your coffin and your tombstone. You had to get away from them, any way you could.

Another nightmare bursts from the ground in front of you. But this nightmare has a face and a voice. 

“Howdy!” Its words sound like broken promises and betrayal. “I’m FLOWEY! FLOWEY the FLOWER!”

You cry out but the voice isn’t yours. The nightmare pauses, seemingly unsure. Its face morphs into one you shouldn’t recognize but do.

“-----?” It calls you a name you’ve tried to forget. A flood of memories you don’t want to remember washes over you. You are lost, but this time in a mad whirl of colors and angry voices. You stumble around trying to find the way out. You think for a moment that there may not be a way out. 

And suddenly the world goes dark once again.

You jolt awake in a bed that fits you perfectly. The room smells like comfort and happiness and love and all sorts of wonderful things y _o_ ** _u_** **_don’t deserve you filthy demon._** **_None of this belongs to you, you never deserved any of it._**

You have to leave. You can’t stay here. This isn’t where you belong.

You rush out of the room, nearly tripping over the golden pie on the floor in your haste. Halfway down the stairs you trip and roll to the bottom, a sad heap of blue and purple and tears. All of you should be hurting right now, but you can’t feel anything except the fear buzzing in your head.

“Child?” You hear a voice call out and it’s every nice thing that’s ever happened to you and you can’t stand it. It’s the most welcoming and tender voice you’ve ever heard. 

And it  _ terrifies _ you. 

Because it’s far more than a demon like you deserves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never had to write anything like this before. It ended up being a little messy didn't it?
> 
> Oh well. It's all in good fun.


	3. Drawing Parallels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's taking you Home.

A horrified scream shatters the tranquility of the Ruins. You drop the book you were reading in surprise. From the sound of it, the voice belonged to a child. And from the direction it was coming from…

Oh no.

It belonged to a  _ human _ child.

It had been thirty years since the last human fell. And you were starting to hope that the humans had sealed off Mt. Ebott for good.

You hastily exit the house, making your way towards the flowerbed at the back end of the ruins. Memories of your other children flit through your mind as you rush through your oft-repeated journey through the charred remains of puzzles.  _This time,_ you think, as you vault over a field of melted spikes.  _This time I'll be sure to keep them safe._

When you find the human it takes all of your willpower to not cry out in shock.

Their hair, their build, the way they curl inwards on themselves.

All of it screamed a name to you.

Chara. Your eldest.

 

 

No.

Chara was dead and buried.  _You_ buried them, yourself. You laid their body to rest beneath a bed of their favorite flowers.

This wasn't Chara.

Looking at the child again, their hair and their skin were a few shades darker than Chara's. Their hands weren't marked with scars like Chara's were. Instead, you note, they had scars elsewhere. Two long, thin scars that stretched from the corners of their eyes and stopped a few inches from either ear.  _Poor child's likely blind,_ you think to yourself, and a flicker of indignation runs through you at thought of someone leaving a blind child alone in a place like Mt. Ebott.

You lift the child gently into your arms, and softly chuckle at way they unconsciously grab at your fur, as if trying to reaffirm themselves that you were still there. Just like how...

Well, just like how Chara used to do.

You sigh morosely. You'll never get over them you suppose.

But for everything you couldn't do for that child you'd try to make up for with this one.

You let gentle waves of healing magic pulse through your arms and into their body. You couldn't heal any old injuries that may have scarred over, but you could patch up any new injuries they might have sustained when they fell.

As you quietly make the return journey home you think about the life you would try to provide for the child. Letting them leave the ruins as they were was out of the question. No matter  _what_ your friend on the other side of the door had promised, you weren't letting this child leave until you knew for sure they could fend for themselves. Of course, you'd try anything within your power to convince them to stay. You'd provide them with the comfiest home life they could ever ask for. After all, you could only protect them while they were here in the Ruins with you.

But those was plans for the future. What the child needed needed right now was bed rest and a warm meal. You hum in contentment when you realize you'll finally have someone to cook for after thirty years. You hoped they liked butterscotch and cinnamon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I managed to stretch "Goatmom brings a kid to her house" into an entire chapter. I don't know how that happened. I'm sorry.


	4. Toriel Blocks the Way!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Check 
> 
> *Knows best for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A switch in POV is denoted by a horizontal line. I hope I'm doing this right.

A horrified scream once again shatters the tranquility of the Ruins. But this time it's coming from the floor above you. Oh dear. You hadn't thought they'd wake up this soon. Well you'd best make yourself presentable. Most humans react a bit violently when meeting monsters for the first time, and you didn't want to distress the child any more than they already-

A sudden crash interrupts your thoughts. That was... the door being slammed open wasn't it? Perhaps the child was not blind then? Oh but if they are then they were going to hurt themselves trying to get down the-

The sound of tumbling and another crash interrupts your thoughts again. You hurry over to the foot of the stairs where you find the child in a crumpled heap. "Child?" you call out to them and you don't miss how they shudder violently at your voice.

Oh goodness.

What could've happened to this child that they'd fear you so?

* * *

"Oh child, you're hurt! Allow me to heal you." You recoil away from her. Your eyes are tightly shut but you can still see her. You don't know why but you can see everything. The contours of the all too familiar house. The silhouette of the goat-dragon creature you can only think of as "Mom" reaching her hand towards you.

No.

You can't let her touch you. You can't let her get hurt.

Because that's what you do isn't it? You hurt everything you touch. 

You couldn't let her get hurt. She did nothing to deserve this. She did nothing to deserve you.

You spot an opening and dart past her, ignoring her protests. You were doing this for her, even if she didn't understand it. It's okay, a part of you doesn't understand it either.

"Child, I must attend to your injuries! Please, do not run!"

Don't run? No, you  _have_ to run. You have to get out, but how?

The front door? No, Mom is standing in front of it. Another way out? There is. In the basement. Down a hallway and to the left. You'll find a door there.

You don't question why you know that.

You barrel down the stairs leaving Mom gasping behind you. "No, child!" She cries out. "You mustn't go down there! Please, stay!"

Half of you wants to listen to her. The other half knows that you can't. Unfortunately the two halves don't quite reach an agreement in time and you find yourself sprawled across the cold basement floor.

* * *

The child had tripped, most likely. It was a miracle they managed to reach the basement with their eyes closed in the first place. You considered restraining the child, but they were clearly frightened of you. Well, nothing in the house was going to harm them save themselves, so you hurry past them and block the only exit to the Ruins.

The child picks themself off the floor, arms clutching their sides. They stare at you with shut eyes. You decide to give them an explanation, though they might not be in the state of mind to receive it.

"Child I understand that you are frightened. That you are scared of me, though I do not fully understand why." The child is tearing up at your words. "Child, know that I mean you no harm. That everything I do is done with your best intentions in mind."

You turn to the door behind. "The door behind me leads to the rest of the Underground. I cannot allow you to pass through this door. If you do, they... ASGORE... will kill you." The child gasps at your words and you nod your head, vindicated. "I am only protecting you, do you understand? Go to your room."

The child was a mess. They were incoherently mumbling something to the effect of "can't stay" and "not safe". There were tears streaming down their cheeks and soaking into the collar of their turtleneck.

But they didn't back down.

"Child, I only want what's best for you." You say, magical power rushing out from your chest. "You are not in your right mind at the moment, so you may not understand this now. But I assure you, so long as you remain here with me I promise, no harm shall befall you. Please, go to your room."

Their arms fall their sides. Their shoulders are hunched, but it is no longer in fear. It is in...

....defiance.

You sigh in exhaustion. "After all I've said, you still will not stay? Heh, you are just like the others." You give a sad chuckle. 

"Fine then, if you wish to leave so badly then prove yourself." Your magic takes form, materializing a battalion of fireballs behind you. "Prove to me that you are strong enough to survive!"

 


	5. The First Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first of many.

Why was she attacking you?

.

.

.

_WHY WAS SHE ATTACKING YOU!?_

 

Dense waves of magic roll off of her, the currents feeding into various nexuses at her will. The magical power condenses behind her to form several rows of brilliant fireballs. Despite being at the other end of the hallway, you could feel the intensity of the flames wash over you. Memories flash through your mind of a similar but far gentler flame you once played with in the past. You jolt up in recognition. You've seen this woman's magic before. But never like this.  _Never_ like this.

This was the kind of magic used in wartime.

And it was pointed at you.

A salvo of fireballs leapt towards you. Even with your eyes closed you could sense the raw magical power packed within those flames. You duck and weave as best you can but you fit in your body like a square peg fits in a round hole. You trip over your own feet and stumble into the path of two angry fireballs. They slam into your side with the familiar force of thrown bricks. The impact sends you sprawling across the floor. The side of your head smashes into the cold floor and for a moment you lie there in shock amidst glowing embers and a growing pool of your own blood.

* * *

When the child falls it takes all your willpower to not cry out. Every fiber of your being wishes to rush over to them. To heal them, and comfort them, and tell them everything was going to be alright. But you couldn't afford to be weak-hearted here. You force yourself to remain cold and impassive, willfully draining the emotion from your voice.

"I won't say it again. Turn around and go to your room." 

The child picks themself up off the floor with shaking legs. They turn to face you, blood trickling into their eyes and mixing with their tears.

"I don't want to fight you," they say, voice barely above a whisper.

"Then you must promise to stay," you reply flatly.

They weakly shake their head. "I can't," they tell you.

"Then you leave me no choice," you answer. Flames re-materialize behind you as you prepare another salvo. The child was incredibly determined, another trait they shared with Chara. Words would not convince them. You had to break their spirit. You had to remain strong. Surely they'd back down eventually, right? You certainly hoped so. Because if they didn't? Then, well...

You hoped their spirit broke before your heart did.

* * *

 

You set your jaw, pooling as much determination as you could into your aching limbs. The silhouettes around you wobbled and shook about deliriously. Your sightless vision struggled to stabilize itself after the nasty blow you took to the head. You try to open your eyes but blood and dust force them back shut. You try to focus on the unsteady silhouette of the door behind the woman. Slowly, you make your way towards it, one shaky step at a time.

"...What are you doing?" she asks tossing a sparse string of fireballs towards you.

You continue onward.

"Attack or run away!" she commands, throwing a few more fireballs your way. But you could tell they weren't aimed to hit you.

So you continue onward.

"What are you proving this way?" she demands, frustration rising in her voice. The fireballs she launches don't come anywhere close to you.

So you continue onward.

"Fight me or leave!" she shouts, visibly distressed. You know how much this has to be hurting her. You know that she'd never try to harm you if she could help it. And you know that you'd never try to harm her if you could help it. But that's why you know you have to leave.

So you continue onward.

"Stop it," she pleads as she noncommittally tosses a few fireballs at the floor. You sense the hesitation in her voice, you can tell she's just about ready to give up.

So you continue onward.

"Stop looking at me that way!" she cries, flinging her last fireball away from you. 

And that's when it happened.

Your dizziness, your aching limbs, your unfamiliarity with your body.

All of it comes back to bite you at the worst possible moment.

You misstep and your leg gives out. Time seems to slow as your body tips sideways.

Right in the path of the very last fireball.

 

The last thing you hear is the crackling of fire and a panicked gasp.

And then it all went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can assure you, their spirit and her heart broke at exactly the same time.


	6. Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toriel keeps her promise.

You sigh in exhaustion. "After all I've said, you still will not stay? Heh, you are just like the others." You give a sad chuckle. 

"Fine then, if you wish to leave so badly then prove yourself." Your magic takes form, materializing a battalion of fireballs behind you. "Prove to me that you are strong enough to..."

You turn to find them collapsed on their knees, clutching their face with both hands.

"...Child?" you ask hesitantly. They shudder in response, slowly dropping their hands to the ground.

"I was dead," they murmur, head hung low. "We were fighting and I got hurt but I kept going and then I tripped and I, I was _dead_." They lift their head up, turning to face you. "You  _killed_ me."

You freeze at their words. The image of a fireball racing towards an injured child flashes through your mind. You balk at the... memory? No. Surely it was just your brain conjuring up an unpleasant image, right? You couldn't have... you'd never... not to a  _child_...

Your outstretched paw trembles. The magical power in the air wavers in response to your own conflicting emotions. For a moment the two of you face each other in silence.

Fresh tears well up in the child's closed eyes. "I don't want to fight you," they tell you.

"Then!" your voice catches and you pause to collect yourself. "Then you must promise-"

"I can't stay here either!" they interrupt, shaking their head emphatically. "I have to leave here," they say in a cracked whisper. "I don't want to hurt you."

You say nothing for a moment. A pregnant pause fills the air.

"If you truly wish to leave," you say slowly, reluctantly. "Then I can let you." A relieved smile starts to form on the child's face. "But!" you thunder, putting on a stern expression. "That is only AFTER you have proven yourself!" Your magic flares back to life as the fireballs reform. The child stands up, their face growing tense. "Outside this door there are many who'd seek to kill you for your SOUL! If you wish to leave then you must prove yourself!"

* * *

"Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!"

Flames whizzed through the air in a complex formation, but this time you were prepared. You leap and roll about, quickly growing accustomed to your body. Your sightless vision keeps you oriented even as you dive and somersault out of danger. A stray fireball smacks your elbow, but it's a glancing blow. You hastily pat out the flames before dashing towards the door.

Roaring flames cut off your path. You slam your foot down to stop your momentum before skirting around the edge to continue forwards. Embers fall like rain but you force your way through, ignoring how much you burn your arms in the process. Finally, you were within arm's reach of the door. You lunge for the handle but a flaming paw catches your shoulder, tossing you clear across the hallway.

You clumsily roll backwards, trying orient yourself into a crouching position. "Please!" you yell over the din of fire and magical explosions. "Please just let me go!"

"If you wish to leave then show me your strength!" she yells back firing a helix of flame towards you. 

You rush to the opening in the center of the hallway skidding to a halt right before the place where the flames cross paths. A steady stream of fireballs flies past you on either side. Flame kicked winds whip your hair wildly about. But despite everything, you could still faintly sense her presence through the cacophony of magic crashing against the walls. "Please!" you call to her again. "I don't want to fight you!"

"Then I cannot let you past!" she answers. With a wave of her paw a wall of fire erupts from the ground, separating you two.

* * *

You stare at the hazy image of the child through the flames and they, eyes still closed, stare back. "This is your final warning, child." you say, evenly. With another flourish of your paw, the wall advances towards the child. They ball their fists as the flames inch towards them. They shudder, but you recognized the expression on their face. It wasn't a face filled with fear.

It was a face filled with determination.

"Please," they plead once more, taking a few steps forward. "Please!" they shout, breaking into a run. You gasp, dropping the intensity of your flames as much as possible before they burst through the wall, arms crossed. You're still recovering from the shock of forcefully cancelling your magic when they reach you. With a final push they leap towards you, throwing their arms out with a yell. "PLEASE JUST LET ME THROUGH!" They shove you, and an intense magical power pierces your gut.

You stagger a half step backwards, more so from shock than from the force of the shove, as the two of you stare at the blood red magic dagger embedded in your stomach.  _Was_ _that..._ you wonder faintly.  _...Human magic?_

Weakness overtakes you as your paw grasps the dagger. Even as it was decaying, you could clearly sense the sheer power that was packed into the blade.  _Well,_ you think, closing your eyes.  _With that sort of magic, perhaps this child_ does _stand a chance of getting past Asgore._ It's a small comfort to your dying mind knowing that the child had a good shot of getting past the Barrier safely.

You slowly dropped to a knee, gasping for breath. " _Urgh..._ " you groan softly, trying to stifle the pain. "You are... stronger _ **no**_ than I thought."

"Listen to me, small one. If you _ **nonono**_ go beyond this door, keep walking _ **nonononopleaseno**_ as far as you can. Eventually, you will..."

"Child?"

Tiny quavering hands were clutching at your wound desperately, like forcing it shut was going to make it better. The child was shivering uncontrollably, their eyes wide open in shock. **_"_** ** _i'msorryi'msorry_** _ **ididn'tmeantoididn'tmeantoi"**_ they were mumbling incoherently. From the gibberish you could make out various apologies and words of distress. You gently rest your paws on their shoulders, speaking in the most comforting tone you can muster. 

"Oh, child. It's alright, really. This isn't your fault."

_**"myfaultmyfaulti'msorryit'smyfaultiplEASEDON'TDIEMOMPLEASEI'MSORRYI'M!!!"** _

You jolt in surprise at the sudden outburst. You peer down at the child. Ruby red irises stare back. They look at you like the world was ending, and you didn't know what to say to console them.

 

Suddenly something clicked in your mind.

You recognized that voice.

You recognized those eyes.

You recognized that panicked, rushed way of apologizing.

You recognized it, because it all belonged to-

 

 

"Chara?" you call to them.

 

 

" _Mom?"_ they whisper back.

 

 

You chuckle wryly at the odd twist of fate. You praise whatever higher powers that might exist for bringing your child back to you, and you curse the same powers for taking you away from them. But for however long you had left with them you were a mother again. And right now your child needed you.

You pick out the perfect words of consolation from a distant memory. It was a simple farewell, one you'd performed for your children hundreds of times before. You smiled at the opportunity to perform it for your child one last time.

You pulled your child into your embrace, nuzzling their cheek with your own. " _Be good, my child,"_  you whisper gently into their ear.  _"I love you."_

You hold your child in your arms until you completely crumble into dust.

 

Once again the tranquility of the Ruins was shattered, this time by an anguished, mournful wail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, get it? Because of that thing that she promised back in Chapter 1? 
> 
> I'll just go back to the trashcan where I belong now, thanks.


	7. Anomaly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're dying to see her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo heads up, there's a lot of killing yourself in this next chapter. Just a warning if you're bothered by that sort of stuff.
> 
> Also, god this took forever to write.

**_This isn't how it was supposed to be._ **

You cry out with all your might.

_**This isn't what was supposed to happen.** _

You yell until there's nothing left in your lungs. And then you keep yelling.

_**You never wanted to hurt her.** _

You continue your silent scream even as darkness creeps up around the edges of your vision.

_**You'd do anything to bring her back.** _

If you just had another chance then this time you'd stay. You'd listen to her. You'd live with her. If you were with her, maybe she could teach you how to not be the little demon that you were.

If only you could turn back time.

 

.

.

.

 

_**You could.** _

You wake up in a pile of dust. Your fingers trembled with excitement. You remembered fireballs smashing into you before you came back to your senses in an uninjured body. The memory filled you with DETERMINATION.

You giggled deliriously. You could bring her back. You could make things right.

 

All you had to do was die. Easy right?

 

Your giggles escalated into hysteric laughter. You tried to focus the strange energy inside you to recreate your dagger, but the magic refused to form. You fail attempt after attempt as the hazy half solid dagger dissipates repeatedly. It seems your mental instability was preventing you from shaping your magic.

Hah.

Well no matter.

There was more than one way to skin a cat.

You stumble to the side of the hallway and lean heavily against the wall. You clutch at the contours of the wall, grinning widely as you lean back, before you smash your head against brick.

_**SLAM** _

Not enough.

_**SLAM** _

Still not enough.

_**SLAM** _

_Still not enough._

You lean back as far as you can go, before throwing your whole weight against the wall.

You feel more than hear the sickening crunch of your skull. You smile faintly as blood trickles down your face. You slide down the wall as your vision blackens. _I'm coming to see you soon, Mom,_ you think as you fade away.

 

You wake up in a pile of dust.

 

* * *

 

 

You shuffle down a snow covered path. Being a sentry was tedious work, but it got you out of the house and it helped convince your worrywart of a brother that you were leading a somewhat normal life. Plus it was excellent cover for your actual job. 

You sidle into your sentry station, shaking the snow out of your fuzzy pink slippers. You slide the hood of your jacket over your head as you lean back in your chair. Despite the monotony (or perhaps, because of it) you enjoyed your work. Mostly because of how little of it you actually had to do. You take a glance at the large purple double doors to your right. It'd been thirty years since the last human walked out of the ruins. You'd been sentry for two of them. By now you had a routine. Wake up in the morning, shuffle off to your sentry station, take a quick nap, head over to Grillby's for lunch, hang out with your brother as he "re-calibrates" his puzzles, take another nap, probably head over to Grillby's again for dinner, and then later that night, chat with the funny old lady on the other side of the doors.

It was a comfortable schedule, one that was delightfully free of any actual work. You were hoping to continue to keep to that schedule for as long as you could.

You had actually just come back from dinner at Grillby's. There was still a couple of hours before your unofficial meeting time with the lady behind the doors. There wasn't much to do in the meantime, so you decided to laze about for those few hours. Fortunately, lazing about was what you were best at. 

You languidly glance at the silent alarm mechanism attached to the doors from the comfort of your sentry post. A quick check on your phone confirms that it's functioning properly. You slide the phone back into the pocket of your hoodie. Well, no one was getting out of the Ruins without you knowing about it. Might as well doze off for a bit to kill time.

 

_Explosions rock the capital. Buildings crumble as vines burst from the ground. All around you there is screaming, chaos, and destruction. You sigh as all sorts of monsters crowd past you, fleeing from the city as fast as they can._

Oh. You were having one of  _those_ dreams.

_You turn into a narrow alley and find yourself on the rooftop of one of the larger buildings. Your little "shortcuts" were convenient, but they heavily drained your magic reserves so you tried not to use them too often. You didn't have much choice this time around, though._

 You had these sorts of dreams now and again. You dreamed of apocalypse and world ending disasters. Most people would just write them off as simple nightmares. But you knew.

These weren't just dreams.

These were  _memories_ _._

Memories of things that never happened. Memories of things that might've happened. Memories of things that _could_ happen if you let it. 

_You turned to face the gigantic plant monstrosity laying waste to the city. Hundreds upon hundreds of vines roping together and reaching towards the sky, forming a massive, grotesquely wriggling stem. Perched atop the writhing plant mass was a sinister conglomeration of metal and machinery. Peering out of a large television screen affixed to the twisted hunk of metal were flashing faces that could only be described as demonic._

So that's the anomaly, huh? Creepy little thing. 

_You watch the nightmare creature with almost zen-like detachment as it storms towards the palace. From what you knew about the anomaly, it was planning to destroy everything in the Underground and amass enough power to wipe out the timeline. You sigh in exhaustion. This whole mess started not four hours ago. In the span of four hours it had murdered all of your friends and the only other member of your family. You clutch at your brother's scarf as bombs and bullets rain down from the towering vines. A small part of you couldn't help but admire the creature. It was expending a lot of effort in its quest to end all of existence. You couldn't put that much effort into anything to save your life._

_You smile bitterly. Maybe if you could then none of this would've happened._

_You raise your hand towards the creature. A supernova of magical power explodes from your SOUL. You shape the energy into hundreds upon hundreds of bones. A gentle thrust of your arm sends the army of bones slicing through the creature. Powerful lasers composed of pure magical energy fire from blasters shaped like dragon skulls. Your barrage whittles away at the nightmare plant, your magical signature reacting to the creature's high EXP, inflicting even more damage. The hellspawn howls out in agony, its voice demonic and distorted._

_"huh," you chuckle as large portions of the grotesque stem dissolve into dust.  "always wondered why people never used their strongest attack first."_

Your surroundings start to fade to white. It seems like the dream was ending. Well good riddance. It wasn't a very enjoyable dream anyways.

You stand on the rooftop, looking towards the sky as the world disappears. You closed your eyes as you tried to burn the events of the dream into your memory. It was a mostly pointless effort. You never remembered these dreams when you woke up. But that's what most of your life has been until now, hasn't it? Mostly pointless effort. And who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky this time.

Your dreamworld collapses to the sound of anguished howling...

...that continues even after you wake up.

Um.

Huh.

You sit there half awake in your sentry post before you realize you aren't still dreaming. You jolt out of your slouched position and hastily look around, trying to identify the source of the noise. The screaming comes to an abrupt halt that leaves you very much confused.

"uh, hello?" you call out hesitantly. "hey uh, mister 'the scream'? you alright there, buddy?"

You don't receive an answer. Well you weren't going to get to the bottom of this while inside your sentry post. You step out into the frigid Snowdin air, holding your jacket a little bit closer to yourself. All of this was more effort than your usual lazybones self was normally willing to spend. But whoever was screaming just now didn't seem like they were in great condition. They probably needed help, and no one else was around at this hour. You grin a little to yourself as you trudge through the snow. You might be lazy but you weren't  **cold** **-** hearted.

"hello!?" you call out into the night. "hey, everything okay out there!?" Still no response. You pace for a bit before you step out into the frigid Snowdin air, holding your jacket...

Hang on. You've done this before. 

A deep sense of dread pools at the bottom of your ribcage. S o m e o n e w a s m e s s i n g w i t h t h e t i m e l i n e. You race out of your post, desperate to figure out what was causing all of this.

* * *

It's not enough. You didn't go back far enough. Hah, no matter, you'll just try again. And again. And again and again and again until it works. You'll kill yourself as many times as it takes to bring her back. 

After all, determination always _was_ your only good point.

You take a running start towards the wall, crashing into it headfirst. This time, the impact is strong enough to snap your neck. Blood seeps out of your mouth as your shattered spine pierces through your windpipe. You crumple onto the floor, twitching, but filled with a sense of victory. You smile in anticipation as darkness clouds your vision.

You wake up in a pile of dust.

* * *

"hey! is anyone out there!?" you yell as you jump out of your sentry post for the third time. "look, i'm just trying to figure out what's going on! if someone out there's trying to mess around with time, well, i'm sort of an expert on the subject! we can figure something out okay!? i just need you to stop-"

You step out into the frigid Snowdin air, holding your jacket a little bit closer to yourself.

* * *

Still not enough. Gotta try again, then.

You condense the magic from your SOUL into a bright red dagger. You clutch it tightly in your grasp before quickly swiping it through your throat. Blood shoots out of the wound, dyeing a corner of the hallway crimson. You collapse into your mother's remains, watching as scarlet mixed with gray, tracing colorful patterns on the floor. It was beautiful. A ghost of a smile plays with your lips as you pass.

You wake up in a pile of dust.

* * *

You race outside for the... fourth? fifth time? Your memory was growing hazier with each successive redo. "alright, listen!" you call out, hoping your little chronomancer could hear you. "whatever you're trying to accomplish, i might be able to help you out with it, okay? you just gotta, listen you just gotta-"

You step out into the frigid Snowdin air. "alright, look buddy. if you're out there you gotta stop messing with time! you have no idea-"

You step out into the frigid Snowdin air. "okay, listen to me would you!? i've got a p.h.d. in this stuff alright!? i know what i'm tal-"

You step out into the frigid Snowdin air. "would you just  _ **please listen to me!?**_ _ **i'm just trying to help y-"**_

* * *

It's not enough. You're still not far enough back. You reform the dagger, jamming it straight into your heart before dragging across your chest. A deluge of blood gushes out from the wound. You black out so fast that your body slams onto the floor.

You wake up in a pile of dust. You reform the dagger, stabbing it through your chin and directly into your brain. You die before your body even hits the ground.

You wake up in a pile of dust. You don't even bother forming your dagger this time. Your hands fly towards your throat, thumbs pressing against your windpipe before you shatter it under your firm grasp. Your body twitches violently about the floor, fingers clutching at your neck and chest as you asphyxiate to death.

You wake up in a pile of dust. Dozens of magical knives form in the air behind you. You will them to pierce through you, the red of the magic mixing with the red from the blood spilling out of your destroyed chest. Shredded bits of your lungs ooze out from your mutilated body. 

You wake up in a pile of dust.

You kill yourself again. And again. And again, and again, and again. But it's not enough. It's never enough. You die and you die and you die, but every time you do-

You wake up in a pile of dust.

You stare blankly at the floor, the reality of the situation slowly seeping in.

You can't bring her back. No matter what you do.

 

What, did you think you were above consequences?

 

You collapse weakly into the pile of dust, your determination spent.

This time, you don't wake up.

* * *

What were you up to, a dozen or more time jumps? Somewhere along the way, you could feel intense magical energy spiking from the Ruins, so you knew where to look. But time was repeating itself more and more frequently. Even shortcutting to the doors didn't give you enough time shout at whoever was messing with the universe inside. Eventually you just resigned yourself to whatever was happening and hoped it would sort itself out.

You step out into the frigid Snowdin air. You stop in place and wait for the next loop around. You stand there for a minute. Then two.

Finally after five minutes you're convinced that the time-hopping nonsense was over, at least for now. You slowly walk towards the Ruins entrance lost in thought until you find yourself before the imposing purple doors. You rap gently on the cold metal. "hey, uh, everything alright in there?" you ask. You don't receive an answer.

It was only a couple of minutes before your unofficial meeting time with the old lady. You had a sickening feeling that she wasn't going to make it to tonight's comedy session.

You slumped down beside the doors trying to gather your thoughts. You never remembered much from your dreams, but sometimes you could hold onto the concepts. You don't remember what you were fighting in your nightmare, but you could recall a couple of loosely connected ideas.  _Anomaly, killing everyone, heading to the palace,_ and _destroying the timeline._  Pretty heavy stuff.

You knew whatever was on the other side of the door was dangerous. Potentially world-endingly so. But, whatever it was, it was coming from the Ruins. And if it was coming from the Ruins then it probably was a human.

And if it was a human then you'd made a promise with the old lady to protect them.

Good grief. This is why you didn't like making promises.

...

Fine, you think after a moment of internal struggle. You'd give the anomaly a chance. But if you were convinced the human was up to no good, the deal was off. It was them or the world, and you happened to like a lot of the monsters living in it.

You sigh deeply. As one of the few monsters semi-aware of the malleability of time, it was hard to really care about much when you knew everything you worked for could be reset at another's whim.

But you thought about your brother, one of the only bright spots in your apathetic life. You thought about your friends, and the hell they'd have to go through if the anomaly decided to end all of existence.

You clenched your teeth firmly, SOUL pulsing with determination.

You couldn't afford to not care anymore.


	8. Flashback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You remember who you are.

_Your muscles ripple with power. Magical energy floods out of your shared body as you effortlessly glide down the mountain._

**_Well, this is odd,_ ** _you think to the two of you._

_"Y-yeah, it's kinda weird, isn't it?" your adoptive brother whispers._

**_The old records didn't mention anything about this._ **

_"Well, n-no one's really d-done this in a long, long time. I think they just didn't kn-know."_

_**Huh. Maybe it's because I gave up my SOUL willingly. Hey, maybe that makes you even stronger than what the legends said!**  
_

_"Y-yeah, maybe."_

_..._

_"Chara?"_

_**Yeah, Azzy?**  
_

_"I'm, I'm really glad that you're still here with me, I-"_

**_Woah! Aw jeez, are you crying?_ **

_"I, I'm sorry. I know that-"_

**_What? Nah, it's fine, Azzy._ **

_"Wha-?"_

**_I'm still here aren't I? Don't worry Azzy, I'll protect you._ **

_You feel a rush of gratitude and relief flooding from your shared SOUL. It blankets you, and a comfortable warmth blooms from within yourself. You unconsciously send out a buzz of contentment in reply._

**_Well, we should get moving now. Don't want to keep Mom and Dad waiting._ **

_"R-right."_

**_Just six SOULS, Azzy. Six souls and we can set everyone free._ **

_"...Yeah."_

**_You're gonna be a hero, Az._**

* * *

_The earliest memories you had were with him. The old man in the cottage. He wasn't your father, he told you as much. But you lived together with him. And he took care of you, fed you, clothed you, sheltered you..._

_Most days anyhow._

_"Oh, fairy child!" he greeted you. He never called you by your name. You weren't sure if you had one. To him, you were always just "fairy child."_

_"I'm 'bout to cook up some dinner, actually. Caught some trout upstream earlier," he says, motioning towards the cooler on the porch. "Should be enough for two, yeah? Hey, can you grab some wood from the back? I'll try to get a fire going."_

_You nod twice before toddling over towards the wood shed behind the house. You were only three years old (approximately) so you weren't able to form words quite yet, but you mostly understood them just fine. You struggle to slide out a couple blocks of firewood, ignoring the splinters you get in return. It was hard work for someone with tiny little arms like yours, but you didn't mind. You weren't big or strong like the old man, but you had your determination. And that always seemed to get you through life._

_And besides, days like these? When the old man was all relaxed and happy?_

_It almost made you feel something._

* * *

_You stir groggily in your bed. When you first started carrying out your plan, every part of you had hurt. Your throat burned, your fingers blistered, your innards roiled and rebelled against you. Now, here at the end, you were too numb to feel anything._

_You crack open an eye, peering towards the towering mass of fur and golden hair slumped despondently in the chair by your bedside. "Dad?" you call out faintly._

_"Chara!" he yelps, jolting out of his chair and placing his paw over your forehead. "Oh golly, you're awake! Do you need anything? Should I get you a glass of water, or another towel, or-"_

_"Dad," you croaked, weakly resting your hand on his paw. "Can... can you get... Mom and Azzy?"_

_"Wha- I, uh, yes! Yes, of course! Honey! Asriel! Chara is awake!" Dad shouts away from you._

_"Chara!?" you hear Mom shouting back from downstairs. The corners of your lips curl upwards at the sound of the Boss Monster clambering ungracefully up the stairs. She bursts through the door with your little brother in tow. "Chara!" she exclaims, a little softer this time, before rushing up to your bedside.  
_

_"Chara, dear, you're up!" she chirps, trying to inject some happiness into her voice."Are you feeling any better?"_

_You knew she was trying to act chipper for your sake. You could tell by the way her voice wavered and how tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. You laugh hoarsely in appreciation. "I can't really... feel anything anymore." You wink at her playfully. "It's a... marked im-improvement."_

_Her face falls. She tries to shake the sadness out of her smile. "Well, if you're able to joke like that then I'm sure you'll be feeling alright in no time!" She gently brushes your bangs from your face. "Y-you're going to get better, Chara. You're going to be okay."_

_You smile and lean into her touch. She smiles back. You look into her eyes and your smile turns melancholic._

_"No," you tell her._

_"Pardon?"_

_"It's okay. I know. I'm not going to be okay."_

_"Chara, dear?"_

_You could feel your body failing, your senses dulling and fading away. You could tell you didn't have much time left. "I think-" you cough, trying to pull yourself together. "I think I woke up so I could say goodbye."_

_Her smile falters and the tears escape her eyes. "Oh Chara, please don't say things li-"_

_"Thank you," you interrupt her, and she freezes. "All of you," you call to the three of them, and now tears are starting to form in your_ own _eyes. "I... I didn't really have much of a family until I met you guys. I kn-know how difficult I m-must've been at the start, so," you smile as brightly as your dying body would let you. "Thanks for taking in a b-brat like me."_

_Everything was growing dim. Your vision was blurred and your hearing was starting to fail you. You knew your time was up but you persisted through sheer determination. You turned your face towards your family. Even if you couldn't see them anymore, you knew they were still there. You call out to them._

_"I love you, Mom."_

_"I love you, Dad."_

_"I... Azzy?" You hear a muffled response. You reach out towards the sound of his voice and cup his cheek in your hand. "Take care of M-mom and Dad for me, 'kay? I love y...ou."_

_Everything went dark._

* * *

_You knew what emotions were. You knew the bright warmth of happiness, the irritated red of frustration, the murky blue of melancholy, the yellow waves of mirth. You knew what emotions looked like._

_You didn't know what they felt like._

_For as long as you could remember you've never once felt any emotion. Your voice was perpetually even. Your face was locked in a flat expression that never broke. You knew it wasn't normal. The old man felt emotions. The hiking couple felt emotions. The various campers who visited Mt. Ebott all felt emotions._

_Everyone you've ever met felt emotions. Almost constantly, too. You could see the vibrant flashes of color wash over their SOULs. They looked like sunsets, and rainbows, and candy, and all sorts of wonderfully colorful things._

_Your SOUL never looked like that. Yours was a dull monotone of faded red._

_You asked the old man why his SOUL was so colorful and yours wasn't. You could see the dark muddiness of confusion flicker around him before he muttered something about fairy magic and shooed you away. You asked some of the people who visited Mt. Ebott about it too, but they all mumbled something noncommittal before shuffling off somewhere. You didn't miss the icy blue fear that gripped their SOULs when they left, though. Even if you couldn't feel emotion, you could tell they didn't like it when you talked about your SOUL. You figured whatever was wrong with your SOUL was so horrid that people simply didn't want to talk about it._

_So you stopped asking._

_It wasn't until much later that you realized they probably couldn't see SOULs anyway._

* * *

_They loved you. You understood that much._

_They were patient with you when you'd wake up in the middle of the night, screaming and clutching at a plastic knife like it was your lifeline. They were understanding when you'd shy away from other monsters and hide behind a mask of fake civility. They were comforting when you were huddled up in a ball mumbling incoherent apologies for something horrible you'd done._

_They really **really** loved you._

_You really loved them too, and it frustrated you that you could never seem to fully repay them for all they'd given you. All the pies from Mom, all the tea times with Dad, all the cute little flowers Asriel picked for you. It seemed like every time you tried to give back to your family they'd casually return the favor tenfold. They were simply too **good** for you. And nothing you could ever give would ever be enough._

_You could give your life and it wouldn't be enough._

_So you did what you could. You pretended to be the good little child you knew that you weren't. You practiced the piano because you knew Mom loved to hear you play. You hosted the weekly Royal Broadcast because you knew Dad thought you had a wonderful speaking voice. You learned the royal style of fencing because you knew your little brother was too much of a crybaby to ever stand up for himself._

_You'd lived like that for well over two years. And your facade was starting to come apart at the seams._

_Sometimes, you'd slip. You'd pound out rough and discordant melodies on the piano. You'd swing your wooden training sword about wildly, angrily, lashing out at imaginary figures of everyone who'd ever hurt you._ _You resented humanity. For everything they did to you. For everything they did to monsters. You knew the monsters had a right to resent you too. For being human. For being you._

_Instead they loved you more than humanity ever did. It baffled you. It was like their SOULs were made entirely of love, hope, and compassion. They never resented you, or humanity for what you've all done to them._

_You envied them. How could they all be so happy, so carefree, when they were all stuck down here in this prison, when **you** were still stuck struggling with all sorts of bad thoughts by yourself? It wasn't fair._

_Sometimes you resented **monsters.**  Of course they were all happy and carefree. It was in their nature. They'd never known how awful humanity could be. They had their legends, their old stories, sure. But they'd never  **met** a human. If they had? If they met a human who was as bad as you knew you could be? Well, they'd resent humanity too, right?_

_But that wasn't true. Mom, and Dad, and Grandpa Gerson, they all fought in the War of Humans and Monsters ages ago. They knew what humanity was like, and yet they still loved you like one of their own. Despite everything, all the rough times, all the suffering they must have lived through, the only one still wallowing in resentment was..._

_Well, despite everything, it was still just you, huh?_

* * *

_The old man had a knife. Never went anywhere without it. You asked him about it once and he gave you a distant look._

_"Humans ain't the nicest, y'see?" he drawled in that peculiar accent of his. "Now, I don't know where you come from, fairy child, but 'round these parts, if you don't carry something like a knife around? Well you're just askin' to get taken advantage of."_

_The old man would use his knife for all sorts of things. Cutting fishing lines, roughly trimming his beard when it got too long, whittling away at wooden sculptures of wildlife. All idyllic and benign sorts of activities. At least on the good days._

_The old man didn't only have 'good' days, though._

_His SOUL was sick. You didn't have any other way to describe it. Dark, murky tendrils of insanity clung onto his heart, discoloring the bright yellow underneath wherever it gripped. As the days would pass, the inky, black insanity would travel up and down the SOUL, rising and falling like the tide. And on the days where you could barely see his SOUL underneath the knotted, black vines? Well, those were the 'not so good' days._

_On the 'not so good' days the old man would turn his knife on **you** **.**_

_He'd carve away at you, slashing at your arms, your chest, your legs, your back, anything that was within reach. You protected your vital areas as best as you could, dodging the blows with all the grace your stubby little limbs could afford you. But every time you'd walk away with a few more nasty gashes littered across your body._

_Emotion was still a foreign concept to you. But pain wasn't. You could feel it throbbing as warmth spilled from an open wound in your side. You could feel it burning as you stumbled away from the cottage in the woods. You could feel it prickling as determination coursed through your veins, scarring over grievous lacerations. You were no stranger to pain. You didn't like it._

_So then why stay? You could tell when the old man was going to have one of his 'not so good' days. You didn't have to stick around for them. You could've just left the old man to his own devices. Anyone else would've._

_You, however..._

_You could see the old man's SOUL. You could sense how the grip of insanity weakened with every swipe of his knife. Like he was fighting off the manifestation of some inner demon. All you had to do was weather the onslaught for a few minutes, just until the old man exhausted himself in his frenzy. He'd collapse in his cabin, you'd help yourself to to some of his bandages, and the next morning he'd wake up without any memory of the last night. And then the two of you could go right back to having your 'good days'._

_It was an unhealthy cycle. You couldn't keep it up forever, you knew. One day, you'd move a little too slow. The old man's wild swipes would strike a little too true. You were just a kid. One bad hit and it'd all be over. But the old man was the only family you had. The little cabin in the woods was the only place you could call 'home'._

_If you had to fight to keep it, so what?_

* * *

_Monsters on the whole, you've decided, were far too nice for their own good. You ponder over your place in this oddball kingdom you've fallen into as you make the trek from New Home towards the Core. It's been a year and some since you first fell. You remember the trouble you had those first few months, adjusting to monster common sense._

_Life on the surface had trained you to look past a person's actions and into their true intentions. It was the only way a kid like you could've survived the life you led. Which was why monsters truly baffled you. No matter how intimidating some of them looked or acted, you could tell they never held anything less than goodwill for everyone around them._

_Take Nostrum for example, you think as you regard the magician-like creature floating past you. Shockingly intelligent and an avid prankster, but always looking out for everyone's well-being. You've never known him to use his smarts or his tricky magic to take advantage of anyone._

_Or Meredith, you think, saluting the burly knight who solemnly nods as she lets you into the Royal Laboratory. A warrior who possessed incredible might, you've seen her lift several hundred pound steel girders casually. You didn't think she could intentionally bring herself to harm a fly._

_Monsters came in all sorts of shapes and sizes but at their core, they were all little bundles of kindness. It's funny just how scared of them you were when you first fell._

_Now you were just scared **for** them._

_Humans weren't like monsters. Most of them wouldn't hesitate to harm another for personal gain. You've read up on the history of the War of Humans and Monsters. You knew the kind of power a human with malicious intent had over a monster._

_You were the first human to fall into the Underground. You wouldn't be the last._   _If push came to shove, would the monsters be able to defend themselves?_

_You weren't just going to wait around to find out, you decide as your shoes clomp down against the warm metal floor. You walk with a determined gait down the hallway, past the old desk cluttered with a smorgasbord of odd inventions. The monsters needed a plan, a protocol, for the times when they couldn't afford to spare a human any mercy. And you had just the plan._

_Toriel and Asgore wouldn't approve of your plan. They were the best parents you could ask for, but they were too smothering at times. Always worried over your health and safety and other inconsequential things. You needed an ally, a partner-in-crime. You ride the elevator down into the deepest part of the laboratory. Fortunately for you, a suitable candidate was close by._

_You sidle past a crew of harried monster scientists, giving cursory greetings to those that greet you first. Your destination was just ahead of you, the office of the reclusive Royal Scientist. You pause outside the door, taking a moment to gather yourself. The monster inside was an integral part of your plans. If you couldn't get the Royal Scientist of all people to see reason, you'd be stuck at a dead-end. You couldn't let that happen._

_You pooled your determination. The Underground was your home now, and the monsters were your family. If they weren't going to fight back then you'd just have to do it for them.  
_

_You entered the room, causing the occupant inside to pause mid-sentence before slowly turning to look at you._

_"Well hello there, young Chara Dreemurr."_

_"Greetings, Doctor Gaster. Fine day today, isn't it?"_

* * *

_Something was different with the old man. In all the years you've lived with him, you've seen his SOUL black, yellow, and all the different shades in between. You thought you'd seen the old man at his worst._

_You've never seen him like this._

_His SOUL wasn't covered with dark, oily vines. The SOUL itself was pitch black, without a hint of color. His mouth and eyes leaked a noxious pitch-like substance. You stood, transfixed, as the old man creakily stood up from the cabin floor, flipping his knife open._

_"So," he drawls with an unsettling monotone. "Ya've come back t' haunt me some more have ya?" He sauntered towards you menacingly, cutting off your path to the door. "Ya goddamn demon."_

_He lunged towards you, closing the gap in an instant. His knife brushed past you, tracing a line in your cheek before embedding itself in the wooden wall behind you. You stumbled out from under the old man as he struggled with the knife, before bolting towards the door. The sound of metal scraping against wood catches your attention, and you turn just in time to see a lantern inches from your face. The improvised projectile smashes into you head-on, sending you sprawling on your back. You struggle to your feet, fighting the dull pain that's flooding your head. Suddenly, the collar of your turtleneck is in the old man's hands. He slams your back into the wall behind you and you yelp out in pain._

_"You've taken my Jacob away from me. You've taken my Hannah away from me. Now you've come back for me, have you?" His grip on you tightens. "_ _You've tortured me long enough, demon," he snarls as you struggle weakly in his grip. He raises his knife to your neck. "Try coming back from this."_

_He drags the knife through your throat. Blood gushes out of the wound, filling the cabin with the sickening stench of iron. Your chest heaves, trying to force air through a severed windpipe. The old man releases you, letting you crumple into a puddle of your own cooling blood. He staggers off to his bedroom with vacant, unfocused eyes, leaving you to bleed out on the cabin floor._

_You were dying. Darkness overtook your vision as all the warmth in your body continued to dribble out your neck. You gasp and cough and twitch in an undignified heap, struggling to draw gurgling breaths into your clogged lungs. You shivered as you felt all sensation leaving your body. You could feel yourself slipping away._

_But you refused._

_You summoned forth every ounce of stubborn determination you could muster. The metaphysical force pulses from your SOUL and courses through your veins. You could feel the liquid determination circulating through you, diffusing its warmth and heating your cold body. The life-giving liquid reaches your open wound, and it's a sensation like you've never experienced before. A searing pain like molten lead rides across the slit in your throat. The burning throbs and pulses in time with your heartbeat. Your fingers claw at the unbearably intense itching as the would-be fatal injury rapidly scars over itself. Your body rolls and writhes on the floor, staining your turtleneck beyond recognition with your own blood._

_Finally, the sensation subsides, leaving your body shuddering and wracked with exhaustion. You draw deep gasping breaths through your damaged but functional windpipe. You lay there unmoving for a few long moments, tiredly fighting off the waves of sleep that threatened to overtake you. You still had a few more things to do before you could allow yourself some slumber._

_You pull down the collar of your turtleneck, running your finger over the nasty new scar that ran across your throat. You were never a particularly talkative child. Somehow you had a way of making yourself understood even without speaking. But now?_

_You struggle to vocalize, but all that comes out is a pathetic mix between a whisper and a squeak. The vibrations irritate the bits of your throat that haven't healed quite properly, and you burst into a painful fit of coughing. T_ _rails of blood and phlegm fly from your mouth and you wipe it off with your sleeve._

_You pull your collar back over your throat. You wonder idly if you'll ever be able to speak again._

_You wonder if you'll ever want to._

* * *

_"Howdy, Chara."_ _an unusually subdued voice pipes up beside you. You turn to your left and find your adoptive brother Asriel fidgeting with his paws, a downcast expression on his face. You tilt your head inquiringly._

_"Um, I was, uh, I was just," he fumbles over his words, smiling weakly. "I was just wondering what you were, uh, up to."_

_You let bemusement show on your face as you motion towards the piano you were just playing and the piano bench you were obviously still sitting on._

_"_ _Oh, hehe, right," he grins sheepishly, scratching behind his ears. You sit there in silence, staring at the goat child. His lips are pulled into a tight line and he shifts his balance from foot to foot. He acts like a kid about to ask for some immense favor. You wait patiently for his request._

_"Um, c-could I," he stammers hesitantly. You nod for him to go on. He balls his fists and braces himself for rejection_

_"Could I play with you too? O-on the piano I mean."_

_You blink twice at the innocuous request. Was that really all he wanted? You silently scoot to the right end of the bench, patting the empty space beside you. His face positively lights up, and he happily flops onto the left part of the bench with the dopiest expression on his face._

_"Wow," he says, looking over all the keys. "So, uh. I, uh, hmm." He turns to you, sheepishness back in full force. "Uh, what should I do?"_ _You ponder for a moment, searching for an appropriate melody before deciding on a simple little tune you thought up a long time ago._

_You take his paw in your hand, not noticing how he freezes in embarrassment. The silky fur on his fingers brushes yours comfortably as you guide his hand onto a low 'D' key. Together, you play a very simple three note progression, 'D', 'C♯', 'F♯'._

_Eventually, Asriel gets the hang of it, and you no longer have to show him when to change notes. Then, when you're sure he understands how to play his part[you add another simple melody on top of the first.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eijdNQMYikY)_

_His eyes sparkle and his mouth gapes in wonder as the two of you make music together. You chuckle inwardly at his child-like fascination and you can't help but show off a little, adding a second little melody underneath your part. The two of you continue like that for a while, looping through the song several times. When you're done, Asriel's looking at you with stars in his eyes._

_"That was really pretty!" he cheers, enthusiastically. "What's it called?" The sheer genuineness of his praise leaves you stunned for a moment. You turn your head away and shrug casually to hide your embarrassment._ _You sit there together in a happy sort of silence before he returns to his previous downcast expression._

_"U-um," he begins, stammer once again returning to his voice. "Y-you're not still upset about that one monster said, right? About you being an angel and all..." You freeze, remembering the moment. It was just an offhand remark, really. Just some old monster talking about some old prophecy._

_You didn't mean to react as strongly as you did._

_Your hands grip your knees and you keep your head down. You just weren't used to it, that's all. You were used to abuse and mistreatment. You were used to being called a demon. You heard it so often you started to believe it yourself._

_But now all these strange creatures were calling you an angel, the future of humans and monsters. Now you were being treated like a beacon of hope._

_Between being a demon and being an angel, you weren't sure which one frightened you more._

_"Hey, Chara?" Asriel's voice snaps you out of your contemplation. You turn to him as he edges a little closer to you. "Um, I overheard Mom and Dad talking about..." he shifts uncomfortably. "About why you might have, um, fallen."_

_Now it's your turn to shift uncomfortably. You never liked talking about your life on the Surface, but it looks like Toriel and Asgore were smart enough to figure a couple things out by themselves._

_"Um, I-I uh, just wanted you to know, uh," You can't take it anymore. You can't stand how he sounds like he's about to start crying for you. You can't stand how genuinely concerned he is for you. You throw your arms around him and pull him into a fierce hug. He yelps in surprise before hugging you back twice as hard._

_"Ch-Chara?" he asks. You shift in his arms in response. "E-even if the reason you climbed the mountain wasn't very happy, I'm still really glad you came. I-I'm really glad I got to meet you."_

_You smile, and for once it's a real, genuine smile. You snuggle a little tighter against him, burying your face in the crook of his neck._

_"Me too," you whisper into his fur quietly. "Me too."_

* * *

_It was the beginning of summer when you first met her. A girl, just a few years older than you with a cute little red ribbon in her hair. She was lost in the middle of the forest. You could tell by the muddy layer of confusion and trepidation clouding her SOUL. You walk up to her slowly, trying not to startle her, but..._

_"Eep!" she cries out, whipping around and bopping you on the head with a colorful toy knife._

_... looks like she was the easily startled type._

_"Oh! Oh, oh, oh no, are you okay? Oh gosh, I'm sorry! You startled me, is all!" You rub your hand over the spot she smacked you, shrugging your shoulders to let her know you were fine._

_The two of you stand there unspeaking, letting the sounds of the forest fill the silence between you._

* * *

_It was the end of summer when you first met him. A creature you thought only existed in legends. A monster._

_You were chasing other legends at the time, the ones about Mt. Ebott. The ones that spoke of the travelers who visit Mt. Ebott disappearing. At the time you considered disappearing to be an appealing option. At the moment..._

_You figured it was your just deserts, jumping down a hole in a mountain like that. The optimistic part of you was hoping it would let you shake off your pursuers. The childish part of you was hoping you'd end up in some Wonderland-like fantasy world. The cynical part of you was hoping if the fall was lethal, it'd kill you quickly._

_Now you were lying face down in hard dirt. You could feel more than a few broken bones, but infuriatingly enough, no fatal injuries. You could tell that you weren't going to be able to move under your own power. Which meant you were probably going to starve to death._

_You exhale deeply, wondering whether it'd be better starving or getting finished off by some wild animal. You haven't gotten a chance to take look around you, but you couldn't imagine that anyone would be living down here at the bottom of a hole._

_"Um!" a voice pipes up. Your eyes snap open._

* * *

_"Um!" she pipes up, breaking the silence. "Are you lost too?" You shake your head no. "Oh," she replies._

_Silence again._

_"So, why are you here then?" she asks._ _You point to yourself, then motion towards the surrounding forest before finally resting both hands over your chest and closing your eyes._

_She puzzles over your actions for a bit before clapping her hands in realization. "Oh! So then you live here?" You nod your head yes. "Wow," she says. "That's really neat."_

_More silence. Your conversation wasn't really going anywhere, was it?_

* * *

_"Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you?" says the voice. You struggle to turn your head in the direction of its owner. You peer at your underground companion. And you continue to stare until your brain catches up to what you're seeing._

_Standing before you was a bipedal goat child wearing a dorky striped sweater and a worried expression on his face. "Are you okay?" he asks, slowly approaching you. You groan faintly in reply, the irony of receiving pity from a monster not lost on you._

_He stretches out his hand._

* * *

_You stretch out your hand. She looks at you quizzically. You point to her and hold your hands over your heart, before holding your hand out again._

_"Oh right! You probably know your way around here, don't you? Are you saying you can lead me out of the forest?"_

_Well, it was close enough. You nod your head._

_"Oh, well I really appreciate it! I was hiking with my parents, but I got lost. I was just going to wait here until you showed up." She takes your hand in hers and smiles._

* * *

_You place your hand in his and he smiles. "Here, get up..." he says, gently lifting you up onto his shoulder. You sharply inhale as the motion jostles some broken ribs. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he frets when you gasp. "Um, we'll just walk slowly okay?" You nod faintly, too weak to even think about arguing with the fantasy creature you were half convinced you were hallucinating. The two of you pass rows of pillars and piles of leaves as you walk down the path._

_By the time you reach the foot of a flight of stairs you're already dizzy and nauseous from the concussion you were pretty sure you had. You eye the steps and sigh in despair. These stairs were going to kill you._

_"Don't worry!" reassures the goat kid. "My mom knows healing magic! It's just a little bit further, I promise. Mom'll get you fixed right up!" You nod again, not even registering the mention of magic._

_"Oh!" he exclaims, and you wince slightly from the outburst. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! Sorry, let me just start over."_

_He turns towards you and smiles an infectiously cheerful smile. "Howdy! My name is Asriel Dreemurr. What's yours?"_

_You smile back a little in spite of yourself. Asriel lets you lean into his body and you place your mouth near his ear._

_"I'm..."_

* * *

_"...Suzy, by the way. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." The girl turns to you and smiles. "What's your name?" she asks. You're not quite sure how to respond._

_You've been called by a couple of names before. You've been called a fairy child, you've been called a demon. But thinking about it, no one's ever given you a name before. So you shrug your shoulders._

_Suzy frowns in confusion for a moment. "Wait," she says hesitantly. "Are you saying you don't have a name?"_

_You nod._

_"Oh," she says, a little quietly._ _You walk through the forest together in silence._

_"Well I have to call you something!" she says suddenly, stopping in place. "Nobody should have to go through life without a name! So I'm gonna give you one! If, uh, that is..." she slowly peters out, looking flustered. "If that's alright with you?"_

_You consider for a moment before nodding._

_"Really? That's alright with you?" she asks, apparently not completely expecting you to say yes. "Oh, gosh, uh..."_

_"Oh, I know! There's this fairy tale I really like, about a girl who's lost, and she finds her way home with the help of her little fairy friend. So I'm gonna name you after the fairy! If, uh, that's alright with you that is."_

_You nod._

_"Well, that settles it then!" she declares, smiling excitedly. "Alright from now on your name is-"_

* * *

_"Chara."_

* * *

  _"Frisk."_

* * *

You wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A flashback episode. This chapter's been a month and some in the making. Fortunately during that time I've figured out the backstory behind everyone and everything. Look forward to it in the future.
> 
> Oh yeah, the next chapters should be out much faster.


	9. You Can't Go Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no going back. You can only move forward.
> 
> Stay determined.

Memories of two different lifetimes swirl within your mind. Broken and disjointed, but enough to piece together a cohesive narrative. You remember your life as Chara Dreemurr, the child who represented the future of humans and monsters. You remember your life as Frisk, the mysterious child with the ability to peer into SOULs. You remember who they were.

But what does that make you?

With Chara's knowledge of the SOUL, with Frisk's inherent intuition of the SOUL, you guide the very culmination of your being from out of your chest and you receive your answer.

Floating inches above your prone body was the familiar heart-shaped vessel of power you recognized from both lifetimes. But instead of the solid color it should've been, it was a shoddy patchwork of bright ruby and faded red. Strange bumps and cracks ran like scars along the edges where the colors met. Shattered pieces of two different SOULs stuck haphazardly together with all the odd bits that couldn't fit sticking out like a jigsaw puzzle a child had smashed together. And from the cracks and missing pieces an all too familiar blackness oozed in horrific, morbid beauty.

You knew what you were now. You were the bastardized Frankenstein's Monster of two dead children reanimated through sheer determination. You were the angel of the underground. You were the fairy child of the forest. You were a red-eyed devil. You were a demon.

You were Chara. And you were Frisk. You were two broken SOULs so completely joined together they became one entity.

And you were lying in the remains of the only mother you've ever known.

What now?

 

...

 

Your mother had said something earlier, hadn't she? About how your father would kill you if you left Home? That certainly didn't match up with the gentle, fluffy figure in your memories. The father you knew wouldn't harm another living creature to save his life. And monsters in general, you remember, were always too nice for their own good. Now you were supposed to believe they'd willingly kill you for your SOUL?

Just how much had the Underground changed since you've been gone?

 

...

 

Well there was only one way to find out.

It was time to pay your father a visit.

You get up onto your knees and gather the dust that was once your mother into your arms, holding it tight to your chest. The dust coats you in a thin layer of grainy white, but you don't care. In your addled mind, it was like being held in your mother's embrace. You relish the sensation for a while, burning the moment as a memory to hold on to. With your goal in mind, you rise to your feet. You walk to the door, resting your hand against the metal. From your body's unnatural sensitivity towards magic, you could feel the sheer power of the barrier magic woven into these doors. You knew instinctively, once you left Home you could never, ever return.

You push open the doors and resolutely walk through the exit. Not once do you look back. You have already reached the absolute.

There was nothing left for you here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short, quick chapter. Just to get back into the swing of things.


	10. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An anomaly amongst anomalies.
> 
> You didn't like where things were going.

The sound of the Ruins opening rings out like a cannon firing, echoing about the forest. Your eyes fly open at the noise. Looks like there wasn't any need to specifically rig up an alarm, was there?

You walk out of your sentry station, bending space beneath your magic to show up near the Ruins entrance. You hide in one of the thick groves of trees by the path, keeping yourself out of sight while you observe your little anomaly.

Brown, shoulder length hair, wearing a purple and blue striped sweater, was it just a kid? Bipedal, fleshy skin, two legs, two arms, five fingers. It matched with everything you knew about humans. No mistaking it, then. The anomaly was definitely the human you were tasked to protect.

Well, time to see what you were in for.

The human steps over a branch as thick as their wrists lying in the middle of the path. You wait for them to pass a good distance away before lashing out with your magic, smashing the branch like a twig. The sound reverberates through the air, disturbing the wildlife in the forest. But the human doesn't even so much as twitch. 

Your ever present grin stretches wider. Sometimes, for data collection purposes, you can learn more when there _isn't_  a reaction.

You continue to pester the human, rustling the leaves in the trees, shuffling the snow behind them, trying to fuel their paranoia. But they simply continue onward, undeterred by your antics. Finally, when they reach the weirdly ineffectual wooden gate your brother made they pause, seemingly in confusion. Hey, now's your chance to approach them.

You warp a ways behind them, slowly and deliberately crunching the snow beneath your feet as you make your way towards them. They remain still, no longer in curiosity but in silent acknowledgement of your presence. You reach them, their back still turned towards you, and you speak in an uncharacteristically deep, gravely tone.

 **"H u m a n ,"** you call out to them. **"D o n ' t   y o u   k n o w   h o w   t o   g r e e t   a   n e w   p a l ?"**

** "T u r n   a r o u n d   a n d   s h a k e   m y   h a n d ." **

They slowly turn towards you and...

 

_They're **covered** in dust._

You fight the primal urge to recoil from the creature in front of you. Head buzzing, you extend your left hand to them. They raise their own hand, placing it in yours and...

_phbbbththbhtbthhthh_

The wet, hearty sound of fake flatulence shatters the tense air between you two. You chuckle merrily, the levity of the gag clearing your head. "heheh... the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick." You wink at them good-naturedly. "it's ALWAYS funny." They stare at you with eyes closed, their deadpan expression never betraying a hint of emotion. You could feel your unease crawling up your spine.

"...that's, uh. your cue to laugh." You shrug as nonchalantly as you can. "or, uh, to emote at all...?"

They continue to stare at you. The old lady sure knew how to pick 'em, huh?

"OK," you say, to them and to yourself. "that's fine. everyone's got their own sense of humor." You were going to give the kid a chance. It was the least you could do, considering.

"i'm sans," you introduce yourself. "sans the skeleton. i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now, but... y'know..." You smile impishly. "I don't really care about capturing anybody." The corner of one of the kid's eyebrows raises ever so slightly. Maybe you were getting somewhere.

"now my brother... papyrus..." you pause dramatically. 

"he's a human hunting FANATIC. hey, actually," you lean in to whisper to them. "I think that's him over there." Now was about the time your brother usually came by to bother you about re-calibrating puzzles, whatever that meant. Maybe he'd make a good impression on the human? It was worth a shot.

"i have an idea. go through this gate thingy." You gesture towards your brother's odd creation. The human's eyebrow rises slightly higher. You nod understandingly. "yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.

They march their creepy shambling march over the bridge and you follow close behind, never taking your eyes off them. Your face lights up when you spot the dilapidated, oddly human-shaped lamp you'd picked up from the dump. It'd been the one of the latest props you'd used against your brother in a series of increasingly elaborate human-related pranks. Looking at the kid again, they were just about the right size to hide their whole body behind it. A fantastic idea pops in your head.

"quick," you tell them, suppressing a snicker. "behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

They don't move. They don't turn to you, they don't say anything, they don't walk anywhere. They just stand there, not budging an inch.

"...uh, ok," you say, taken aback by the kid's strange behavior. "I guess you don't have to."

Your brother walks up in that moment, arms pumping and scarf billowing. 

"SANS!!" he exclaims, putting on his stern 'Royal Guard' expression. "HAVE YOU FOUND A HUMAN YET!??!"

"yeah," you reply simply.

"REALLY!?!?" WOWIE!!!!" he shouts, his expression quickly reverting to its normal goofy self. "GUESS THAT'S SETTLED!!" And then he just turns around and walks away.

You stare bemusedly at his receding figure. "that worked out, huh?" you ask them. The kid turns around, eyes still closed, and faces you silently. "... are you just gonna stare at me or...?" They slowly turn back, stiffly marching in the direction your brother went.

You don't miss their odd, mechanical movements, or the strange black substance trickling from their eyes. You almost wish you had.

"well," you call out to them, and they pause in their tracks. "i'll be straight-forward with you. my brother'd really like to see a human..." you wink at them slyly. "so, y'know, it'd really help me out..."

"if you kept pretending to be one."

You turn and walk in the opposite direction, readying your magic power for another shortcut. You couldn't let the Canine Unit get involved in this mess. Not until you could get a handle on the human's goals and intentions. Doggo, Dogamy and Dogaressa, Lesser and Greater Dog... They'd just have to sit this one out, you figure.

You prepare your story and your plans as you take a shortcut to Doggo's sentry station. If only you'd waited, just a few seconds longer. Then you might've heard the sound of a child's rueful, melancholic laughter ringing through the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just gotta do some school stuff, go to work, play some XCOM, watch some Game Grumps, hang out with the family...
> 
> And it's already been a week. Time sure flies doesn't it?
> 
> I'm sorry.


	11. Laying the Bricks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Facing a new, potential enemy.
> 
> Reconnecting with an old, reliable colleague.

A human! A real for real human! It was a bit surprising to you that your lazybones of a brother discovered a human before you did, but you were proud of him all the same! After all, it is only natural that the cool brother of The Great Papyrus should also be just as great as he!

Speaking of which, where  _was_ that brother of yours?

"hey bro."

You discover your wayward brother leaning against a tree beside the path you were walking down. Which was odd, considering there was no way he should be there unless he was bending the laws of time and space again. You've gotten used to it at this point. It's just something brothers did, you suppose.

"AH, THERE YOU ARE, SANS!"

You walk up to him, nervously fiddling with your gloves. "SO SANS, WHEN'S THE HUMAN SHOWING UP? I WANT TO LOOK MY SUNDAY BEST." You consider for a moment. "OR AT LEAST MY TUESDAY PRETTY-GOOD!"

"don't you only have one outfit?" your brother asks. Little does he know just how much thought you've put into your first meeting with a human!

"YEAH, BUT I COULD STYLE MY HAIR!" you counter.

"oh. right," your brother agrees, nodding his head. "good idea."

Something down the path you came from catches his attention. "say, why don't you look over there?" He points to his right.

With a start, you turn towards that direction. What awaits your eyes in the middle of the path is...! Is...!

You look at your brother.

He looks at you.

You look at your brother.

He looks at you.

YoulookatyourbrotherHelooksatyouYoulookatyourbrotherHelooksdownthepathYoulookdownthepathThepathlooksbackatyouYourbrotherlooksdownthepathYoulookbackathim.

You both look away from the path.

"SANS!!! OH MY GOD!!!!" you whisper-shout to your brother, before squinting your eyes in confusion. "I'M DIZZY. WHAT AM I LOOKING AT?"

"behold." he replies with dramatic flair. You both look down the path. Staring back at you, with stony demeanor was...

"OH MY GOD! WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME TO LOOK AT A ROCK."

"...hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

In front of the rock? But...! But that's...!

"OH MY GOD!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT IS."

"well. it's not a rock."

"NOT A ROCK...? OH NO!!! BY PROCESS OF ELIMINATION THAT MEANS IT'S A HUMAN!!!" You turn towards the not-rock and pose dramatically.

"AHEM!! HUMAN!! PREPARE YOURSELF! FOR HIGH JINKS! FOR LOW JINKS! DANGERS! PUZZLES! CAPERS! JAPERS!  BEING CAPTURED!! AND OTHER SORTS OF FUN ACTIVITIES."

You fold your arms and smile all dangerous-like. "REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED... IF YOU DARE!" You walk away triumphantly, nyeh-heh-hehing to the sky.

* * *

You glance back at the stock-still human standing there as unmoving as a statue.

"...and you don't even bat an eye, huh?" you mutter, before shuffling off after your brother.

Well, you could afford to leave the anomaly to their own devices for now. It was too early in the morning for any of Snowdin's residents to be outside of the town. That gave you plenty of time to ascertain the anomaly's intentions.

Maybe you were making a big deal out of nothing. Maybe the kid just had a few screws loose or something and was otherwise mostly harmless. Hopefully, even. But if the anomaly was anything like the entity that haunted your dreams then you were going to need some preparations. And that involved getting in touch with an old friend.

You pull out your phone and ring up one of the numbers still saved on speed dial.

The phone rings once. Twice. Thr-

"H-hello?"

"heya alphys. it's me."

"Sa-! I, wa- uh!" The voice of the awkward, phone-shy Royal Scientist sputters through the speakers. You cut into her stuttering.

"look, i get your situation, so i won't ask you to say anything. but i need you to listen to me, alph. there's a human running loose in snowdin forest and i don't know what they want, but..."

You chuckle darkly. "well, i just need some insurance, y'know? just in case things don't work out between me and the human."

"...W-what do you need me t-to do?"

Your grin broadens. Good ol' Alphys. You could always count on her when it mattered.

"hey, lighten up alph. might not even be that big a deal." you tell her, forcing levity into your voice. "kid might just be a little confused. maybe i can just... set 'em straight?"

"A-and if you can't, you need me to e-evacuate everyone."

Wow. She sure caught on quick. "...heh, yeah, you get it. all the way from snowdin to new home. do you have a way to get the word out quickly if we need to? maybe with mettaton's show or something?"

"Uh, I-I think the equipment for the Royal Broadcast's still op-operational. W-we could always use that."

"the royal broadcast? huh, that's... that's perfect. good thinking, alph."

"Uh, heh. Thanks."

"need me to do anything? while i'm out in the field and all."

"Uh, no I, I can get things s-set up in uh, th-thirty minutes, I think? Is that, uh, is that okay?"

"thirty minutes, huh? yeah, i think i can manage. plus, thirty minutes gives me plenty of time to do what i gotta do."

"Do? W-wait, Sans, y-you're not thinking about confronting the h-human alone are you? Wh-what if they're dangerous? What are you going to do?"

You laugh self-deprecatingly at her worry. "what am i gonna do? well,"

"my job, for once."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus is my favorite superhero.


	12. Faded Ribbon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you're cuter, monsters won't hit you as hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, italics are memories and horizontal lines denote a POV switch. From this chapter onwards, horizontal lines can also indicate a break in time. Which depending on your point of view is still a POV switch, but y'know.
> 
> Also, these flashback chapters are killer to write.

_It was her again. The girl with the bright red ribbon and the toy knife was sitting on a bench by the side of the forest trail. How did she manage to get lost in the woods twice in less than a month?_

_Well, you'd learned your lesson from the last time you met. This time you deliberately stomp your feet as you walk, intentionally drawing attention to yourself. You snap a particularly thick branch beneath your feet and-_

_"Wah!" she jumps to her feet and flails the rubber knife handle around, holding the weapon by its blade. You two were going to have to work on that later._

_"Oh!" she sighs in relief. "It's you! Oh gosh, Frisk, you really startled me!" You bow your head slightly in apology, and she laughs while adjusting her ribbon. "So! What are you doing here, Frisk?" she asks._

_You blink twice in confusion, motioning to the forest around you and then to yourself._

_"Oh, right," she giggles, embarrassed. "You live here don't you!" You nod your head. Then, you point at her and tilt your head questioningly._

_She looks at you for a bit before figuring out what you're asking. "Oh!" she says with a start. "Are you asking what_ I'm _doing here?" You nod your head. The girl named Suzy rubs the back of her neck and looks away. "Well uh, I got lost again. I'm supposed to wait for my parents here." She sits back down on the bench and smiles sweetly. "I'm sure they'll come back for me eventually."  
_

_You peer into her SOUL. There was a hint of anxiety mixed in, but otherwise it was the solid color of trust. She whole-heartedly believed in her parents. And she wasn't going to leave until they came back._

_Well, the old man taught you proper chivalry, even if he wasn't really sure if you were a boy or a girl. You couldn't just let a lady wait around in a forest all alone. And you didn't really have much to do at around this time anyways._

_You sit down on the bench beside her. She looks back at you surprised. "Oh! Are you going to wait here with me?" You nod, and she grins bashfully, waves of appreciation emanating from her soul. "Well, uh, it might take a while, are you okay with that?" You nod again, and the waves intensify. "Oh, wow, okay then. Thank you, Frisk! It kinda gets lonely when you're all alone, you know?"  
_

_The two of you sit there on the bench. She would speak to you, and you'd nod, or shrug, or somehow or another gesture in return. But otherwise, the time was spent in silence. Well, not that you minded, really. You were a pretty quiet kid, even before your throat was gutted._

_But apparently your definition of "a while" was not the same as hers. From the time the sun was high in the air till the time the sun was barely peeking over the treetops, her parents never came._

_..._ _Did her parents get lost too?_

 _In any case, it was getting dangerously late. Even you,_ _with all your knowledge of the forest, didn't like being caught out late at night._

_You stand up from the bench, earning a questioning look from Suzy. To that, you hold out your hand for her, looking at her pointedly._

_"Are you telling me to come with you?" she asks. You nod, and she smiles nervously. "Oh gee, Frisk, I don't know. My parents told me to wait for them here. What if they come and I'm not here?" You look at her as skeptically as your deadpan expression would allow you, pointing at the setting sun. Suzy's gaze drops to the ground as she considers your offer. Various emotions pull at her, and you watch as they swirl and mix and color her SOUL. "Well," she says hesitantly. "I... I guess it should be alright... I mean I shouldn't be out late at night anyways..."_

_She looks back up, decision made. "Alright then!" she exclaims, hopping off the bench. "Lead the way, Frisk! I'll follow you wherever!" she declares in an intentionally storybook-like manner. And then she beams, her smile matching the brightness of her SOUL. Her light shines upon your own dull SOUL, and you can faintly experience her happiness vicariously. You take her hand in yours and lead her down the path towards town, the corners of your mouth ever so slightly upturned._

* * *

_There she was again. Deeper in the forest, on a different bench, but still wearing that bright red ribbon of hers. What were her parents doing, letting her get lost in the same forest thrice?_

_You stomp your feet as you walk, again, crunching the leaves underfoot as you go. But the girl seems lost in thought, oblivious to the world around her. Her usually bright and cheerful SOUL was faded, darkened with doubt. Despite the noise you make, she doesn't look up at you. So you simply walk up to the bench she was on and sit down right beside her._

_Both of you sit there, quietly enjoying the sounds of the forest together for a good while. Abruptly, Suzy breaks the silence with a tiny, cute little sneeze. She sniffles a bit and rubs her eyes, looking up for the first time in ten minutes, and-_

_"Ack!" she cries in alarm, slipping off the bench and onto the ground. You help her up as she wipes the leaves and mud off her dress._

_"Oh, it's just you, Frisk!" she laughs happily, blowing off the layer of darkness that had covered her SOUL. "Oh jeez, you got me again! How long have you been here?"_

_You hold up all ten of your fingers. Her face cramps up. "Seconds?" she asks. You shake your head. Her face cramps harder. "Minutes?" she asks. You nod._

_She smiles apologetically. "Sorry, I guess I was kinda out of it, wasn't I?" An understatement, but you nod anyways. She didn't even threaten you with her toy knife this time. Speaking of which..._

_You mime drawing a knife and swinging it around the air before shrugging your shoulders. "Ahh, oh, I get what you're saying! Don't worry, my knife is right here!" she says, pulling her toy knife from out of her dress pocket for you to see. "I never go anywhere without it! It's a dangerous world out there after all. Gotta have a weapon to protect yourself y'know?" And you did, the old man taught you as much, but..._

_You touch the tip of the rubber blade to your palm a few times, emphasizing its lack of sharpness, and she blushes in embarrassment. "Well, my parents won't let me have an actual knife though. So I have to use this toy knife instead." she says, lightly waving it about. You recall back to how she'd bopped you in the head the first time you met. Well done, Suzy's parents._

_But now what? Was she going to just wait for her parents to come again? Would her parents actually show up this time? How long was she just going to wait around for, if you hadn't found her?  
_

_Well she wasn't going to have to wait alone, you decide._

_The time you spend with her seems to pass all too quickly as the two of you continue your comfortable one-sided conversation for hours. It was nice, being with her. The brightness of her SOUL basking yours with its pleasant light-blue glow. You could feel the echoes of her cheerfulness when you were with her, vestiges of emotion that you wouldn't be able to experience otherwise. Despite your good intentions for her, you can't help but selfishly hope her parents don't return for her until much later._

_But when much, much later becomes now, you begin to worry. It was fast becoming night, and there was still no sign of her parents anywhere. Darkness was beginning to settle in the forest; if you waited any longer you wouldn't even be able to guarantee your own safety, much less hers._

_You stand up from the bench, turning towards Suzy and holding your hand out to her. She looks back up at you, and when she realizes your intention her face falls. "Oh," she says with a small voice. "I guess it's about that time isn't it?" You nod and emphasize your outstretched hand._

_That dark, murky layer of melancholy encroaches upon her SOUL again, and the shadow of that same darkness begins to shroud over your own SOUL. Your mouth draws into a tight line as you try to shake off your slight distress, continuing to hold your hand out for her. She smiles appreciatively at your offer to help. But she doesn't take your hand._

_"I..." she says pensively, her emotions in turmoil. "I-I really shouldn't, Frisk. I'm sorry." She hangs her head apologetically, leaving your hand in the air with nothing to latch onto. So you rest it on her shoulder. She peers back up at you, head still lowered, and having gotten her attention you point insistently at the rapidly darkening sky._

_"Heh, yeah. It is getting pretty late, isn't it?" she says with a hollow laugh. "Listen, Frisk, I... I appreciate you trying to help, I really do! I just..." She sighs morosely. "I can't go with you, okay? My parents'll get mad at me for following strangers around again." She leans back on the bench and looks up at the moon that had appeared in the sky. "I'm going to wait here, Frisk. You should go if you have somewhere else to be."_

_...Seems like she wasn't going anywhere without her parents this time. Well, you think as you set your feet in place and cross your arms over your chest. If she was going to be stubborn about it, you could be too._

_The two of you while away the time in this manner. Her, staring at the moon lost in thought, and you, standing in place, staring at her defiantly. Another ten minutes pass like this, before she finally looks down from the sky and notices you still standing there._

_"Bweh!? Oh jeez, Frisk, you're still here?" You nod your head resolutely, and she puts on a pained smile. "Aw c'mon, Frisk. Don't you have anything better to do?" You shake your head this time, equally as resolutely._

_She sighs in a happy sort of exasperation. "Isn't it getting really late, though? Shouldn't you be home right now?" You shoot her a meaningful look and she giggles. "Hey now, what's that supposed to mean? 'If you're not going anywhere, I'm not going anywhere' or something?" Wow, right on the mark. You two were getting pretty good at communicating with each other._

_Suzy rests her chin in her hands in a ponderous posture. "Well..." she begins, after careful consideration. "I suppooooose Mom and Dad only told me not to follow strangers, and..." she grins mischievously. "You're no stranger to me, Frisk! Alright, I've decided!" she declares, clapping her hands and standing up from the bench. "Well Frisk, my dear friend, I must once again rely upon your services." she says with a playful curtsy, before breaking into giggles over the formal language. You politely nod in reply, taking her hand in yours and leading her away._

* * *

_You find her again, waiting on a different bench in a different part of the woods not even a week later. This time y_ _ou approach her directly from the front, not even bothering to crunch the leaves and branches underfoot. Even from a distance, you could recognize the listlessness in her expression. So without waiting for her reaction, you immediately place your hand on her shoulder. She looks up at you with the tiniest of starts, and upon recognizing you she gives you a weary smile. "Yep," she says, awfully quiet. "Still just you, Frisk."_

_Nothing was right about all of this. Not the fact that she was lost in the woods again. Not the fact that she out here by herself again. Not the dimness of her usually bright SOUL. Not the despondency in her usually cheerful voice._

_Not the discoloration from the bruises on her face._

_No, there was something definitely wrong about the whole situation. A hint of anxiety tinges your SOUL, and you hold your hand out to her, almost desperate to lead her somewhere safe._

_Her weary smile twists wryly. "What," she says, laughing sadly. "Don't have the time to just stay and talk?"_

_No, it's not like that, you want to tell her. You were just worried for her, is all. But your voice, as usual, refuses to cooperate. So, dropping your hand, you simply sit down beside her, shoulder to shoulder. She tenses a little at the sudden contact, but soon enough appreciatively relaxes into you, a somewhat merrier tint coloring her SOUL. And together with her, you pass the time keeping her wordless company, the occasional chatter of wildlife filling in the quiet._

_But there was something off about her, wasn't there? Yes, something... missing. And you didn't want to bring it up, lest you disturb the comfortable silence you'd grown accustomed to. But, for perhaps the first time in your life, you could feel a sort of prickling curiosity towards the girl next to you. You wanted to know more about her, where did she live, why was she always alone in the forest..._

_But what you really wanted to know right now was-_

_"Hm? My ribbon?"_

_You nod._

_Indeed, the bright red ribbon she was always wearing was gone today, leaving her long golden hair to roll wildly in the wind. She chuckles gently at your inquiring gaze, fishing out the ribbon in question from her dress's pocket._

_"It's right here, Frisk. Here, give me a second. Let me just..." She gathers her stray locks of hair, tying it up in her usual ponytail._

_"Well, how about it, Frisk?" she asks, jumping off from the bench and spinning around to give you a 360 degree view. "Don't you think it makes me look cute?"_

_It really did. You stand up from the bench yourself and, taking her hands in yours, you nod once in a serious, no-nonsense manner._

_She blinks slowly with a blank expression before a furious blush crawls up from her neck, turning her face as red as her ribbon. "A-ah jeez, Frisk," she stammers, looking away from you in embarrassment. "Y-you don't have to answer all seriously like that, you know. You're making me blush."_

_Hmm? Did you do something wrong, by chance? By your request the old man had taught you how to properly communicate your thoughts to 'someone special'. You were sure you did it exactly the way he'd taught you, though you didn't really understand his knowing smile when you asked him._

_Well, from the brightness of her SOUL, she seemed happy enough, so you supposed it was alright. Still holding hands, the two of you sit back down on the bench and spend the rest of the evening talking about nothing (and sometimes saying nothing) as usual._

_And finally, when night falls and it's time for you to part ways, Suzy stands up from the bench without a fuss. "Well, I suppose I should be heading home now. It's been a lot of fun, Frisk," she says with a genuinely cheerful smile. "Hope to see you again some time?" she asks over her shoulder as she begins to walk away from you. Eh, she's leaving just like that?_

_You reach out and tug on her sleeve from behind, tilting your head in confusion, and seeing the look on your face she bursts into laughter. "Oh Frisk, I'm not_ that _bad with directions! The main road's only, like, half a mile down that way!" she giggles, pointing down the way she was headed._

_Oh. Your hand drops from her sleeve. So she already knew the way home, did she? That's... good, right? Right, it should be, but..._

_What left you feeling so dissatisfied, then?_

_But as you trouble your sleeve cuffs silently, Suzy laughs softly in gentle amusement. You look back up at her confused as she takes your hand in hers._

_"But, y'know," she begins, smiling playfully. "It_ does  _get a bit lonely walking by yourself, doesn't it? So if you wanna... oh wait, hang on-"_

_She curtsies in whimsically formal fashion. "Pardon my manners. Well then, would you care to accompany me, my dear Frisk?" she asks in a mock-flowery tone._

_You clasp your hands around hers, nodding in earnest. Her smile turns bashful in response to your zeal. "Aw c'mon, Frisk. You're making me blush again."_

_But, well, if she was happy, then you were happy. And from the cheerful glow shining from her SOUL you could tell that she was definitely enjoying herself. And that's all that really mattered to you._

_The two of you walk hand in hand together, stopping along the way to admire the evening forest scenery and turning a ten minute trip into a thirty minute one. And when you finally reach the road that marked the end of your journey, Suzy turns to you one last time._

_"Well, here we are, I guess." she says with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "See you around sometime, maybe?" You watch her leave as she walks down the road back to her home. Suddenly, about a dozen steps in she stops and turns back to you._

_"Uh-um!" she calls out from a distance away. "If, someday, I get lost in the woods again, w-will you come and find me!?"_

_Anytime and anywhere. You nod with twice the earnestness from before._

_Only slightly embarrassed this time, she smiles back with twice the vigor. "I'm counting on it, Frisk! I'll be waiting for you, okay!?"_

* * *

You wander through the dense, snow-capped Snowdin Forest finding hidden paths and shortcuts you once used in a different life. As you navigate the woods with the memories of Chara, the memories of Frisk, and memories of the girl with the bright red ribbon fill your mind. You recall all the time you spent with one of the only friends you had in either life. And you remember the news you'd once heard about a certain Suzy Baker going missing about a month ago.

Anytime and anywhere, that was the promise you'd made. To fulfill that promise, you'd searched the whole of Mt. Ebott. And finally, here you were. A changed person in a different world, the person named Frisk having merged with the person named Chara.

But that was thing about promises, wasn't it? Experience from two different lives had taught you, once you made a promise you absolutely had to keep it. And you weren't going to let something as trivial as the recombination of your SOUL prevent you from keeping your promise with her.

But despite your determinedness there was a niggling at the bottom of your heart. An itching anxiety that crept over your SOUL, bit by bit with every step you took.

You knew the source of this anxiety. The words of Mother echoed in your mind, the implications icing your veins.

_"The door behind me leads to the rest of the Underground. I cannot allow you to pass through this door."_

_"If you do, they... ASGORE... will kill you."_

If what she said was true... If all the humans who came to the Underground were killed...

If Suzy really fell into the Underground, just like you did all those years ago, just like you did not two days ago...

Didn't that mean she was already...?

In the middle of a clearing in the forest you find your answer. A conspicuous pair of items you could recognize in an instant, sticking out from under the snow. Dread gripping your SOUL, you stumble forward, collapsing on your knees in front of the two objects. You dig them out of the snow with trembling hands, and hold them to your chest.

In your right hand you held a corroded toy rubber knife. In your left, a weathered, faded ribbon.

Hollow, unnatural laughter bubbles out of you. Your face contorts into a twisted, humorless grin.

"Heh, eheheh. I, found you," you choke out between hiccuping giggles. "J-just like I promised, right? It-it's been a long time, hasn't it? Sorry I m-made you wait so long."

"Hey... I can feel emotions now, y'know? All the things you felt, and, a-all the colors in your SOUL, I-I can feel those too, now! We could... we could..."

"Hey... I-I have my voice back now too! I don't have to m-mime out what I wanna say anymore! Well, y-you got pretty good at figuring out what I wanted to say near the end didn't you? But, y-y'know, there's so much that you can s-say with words and..." You break down into a blubbering mess, black, oily tears dripping from your eyes, staining the pure white snow beneath you. "T-there was... so much... I wanted... to tell you, I..."

"Hey... w-why didn't you wait for me?"

A patchwork SOUL built from the cobbled together remains of two different entities, oftentimes you were at odds with your own self. But there was one thing that even you could agree wholeheartedly on.

This whole having emotions thing was highly overrated.


	13. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The promises you've made, old and new.  
> In the end, how many of those do you suppose you'll be able to keep?

"so how is it?" you ask your friend over the phone.

"Uh-um," she stutters back over the sound of a clacking keyboard. "I-I still don't see them! They're not on any of the c-camera feeds!"

Jeez, how hard was it follow the obviously marked trail through the forest? There's no way the human managed to get lost, right?

...You weren't going to have to go and find them, were you?

"...well, text me if you find 'em, i guess."

"O-okay! I'll make sure to... WAIT!" she cries out, the sound of her office chair sharply sliding in the background. "I-I see them!"

"great. where?"

"O-over by the signpost. The one in the ice patch? B-but..."

"but what?"

"There's something... wrong... about them, Sans. They're... they're  _smiling_."

Smiling? That deadpan plank of wood? That was hard to imagine.

"maybe they found something to smile about?"

"No, Sans, this is not normal human behavior! Look, behavioral irregularities, anomalous black fluid secreting from facial orifices, you know what those symptoms mean! Sans, I..."

"...I think they might be b-beyond reasoning."

You pause in your steps, sinking a little deeper into the snow covered forest floor. Inhaling slowly, you let out all your breath in a resigned whistling through your teeth.

"jeez doc, way to leave a guy with a little hope."

"S-Sans?"

"thank's for the heads up, alph. i'll call back later, i've got an appointment to make."

"Wha-? Sans! You're still going to meet the human!?"

"that's the plan."

"Y-you can't! That's, that's way too dangerous! W-what if you-!"

"woah, hey. waddya take me for, some kind of daredevil?"

"Sans?"

"hey look, thanks for getting all worried about me, alph. but you know me, i don't do work i don't have to. hell, i don't even do all the work i'm supposed to."

"...well that's true."

"heh. and i pretty much agree with your diagnosis of the kid, too. i didn't really have my hopes up anyways."

"Then why...?"

"but, well, i made a promise with a friend, y'know? and for old times sake, the least i can do is look for a second opinion."

Your friend on the other end of the line pauses at that. She collects herself with a long sustained inhale, before sighing resolutely.

"Okay, but only because U-Undyne's nearby, evacuating everyone from Snowdin, alright? If, for any reason, you feel like you might be in danger-"

"yeah, i know. grab papyrus and get out. let undyne take care of the rest. you don't have to worry about me."

"T-then you, you have to promise me that you'll stay safe."

It was your turn again to stop and sigh. "alph, you know how i feel about promises."

"B-because you have to keep them, no matter what, r-right? Then promise me you'll keep safe. Because we b-both have a promise to keep with  _him_."

You blanch at that, you really do. The promise that you'd made that day. It had been so long now, that you'd nearly forgotten.

"...heh. yeah, you're right. okay alph, you win. i promise, i'll keep myself out of trouble."

"Eheh, you better. I-I'll text you if there's anything important, okay?"

"yeah. thanks again, alph. be seeing you."

You end the call and push your phone back down your hoodie pocket. Looking up at the cavernous ceiling high above you, your shoulders sag and you sigh wearily.

"happy endings, huh?" you mutter to yourself. "do those even exist down here?"

One way or another, you were about to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter huh? Don't shoot, I can explain!
> 
> So college started a couple weeks back. That's been a joy as usual. The time that I'm able to spend writing has decreased tremendously, but that's not entirely the reason for the short chapter.
> 
> In truth, the rest of this particular Snowdin arc is going to go by relatively quickly. There's only a couple of encounters between Frisk/Chara and Sans and Papyrus left before everyone's favorite troubled child ends up in Waterfall.
> 
> I had the option to either put all of that into one chapter, or have each encounter be it's own little chapter. Personally I feel like it flows better in the latter case. And I'll probably be able to update far more frequently this way.
> 
> And it's not like nothing is accomplished in this chapter either. Without spoiling too much, several events are referenced and several relationships are brought up that will become very important in later chapters.
> 
> Summing up, college, shorter chapters, shorter waits, almost to Waterfall, chapter's important, don't do school, stay in drugs, play Overwatch, it's fun.


	14. Three Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've started to learn just what it is the anomaly wants.  
> You're not pleased with the knowledge but it's a start all the same.

What an opportunity! A chance to make a good first impression on the human, and the responsibility fell upon your padded shoulders! There was so much you had in store for the human. Puzzles, pleasantries, and good old fashioned japery by your and your brother's design!

A brother who was noticeably absent once again, now that you thought about it. Now where in the Underground could he have gone off to?

"sup, bro?"

Ah, there he was. Popping in from nowhere like always.

"HELLO, BROTHER! I HAVE BEEN BUSY PREPARING THIS ELECTRIC MAZE FOR THE HUMAN'S PUZZLING PLEASURE! AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO?"

"oh y'know. hanging around. taking a break.

"A BREAK? BUT YOU JUST HAD ONE THIRTY MINUTES AGO!"

"yeah, but i work two jobs, remember? that means twice as many legally-required breaks."

"THAT!" you pause and think for a moment. "MAKES A LITTLE BIT OF SENSE ACTUALLY..."

Hang on, you couldn't just let him lead you around by the nasal bone again! "WAIT A MINUTE, YOU'RE TRYING TO TRICK ME! YOU JUST WANT TO SLACK OFF TWICE AS MUCH!"

"rats. you've figured me out."

"WHAT DO YOU EVEN DO DURING YOUR BREAKS?"

"take naps. mostly. "

"MORE NAPPING!? YOU'RE SO LAZY!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!"

"...i think that's called sleeping."

"EXCUSES, EXCUSES!"

The sound of snow crunching underfoot catches your attention. You turn to your left where you find, staring across the field with a strange little smile on their face...

"OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!"

You strike a dashing pose, letting your scarf flow behind you in a valiant manner. "IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU'LL FIND THIS ONE..." You flash a suave grin. "QUITE SHO(crunch)CKING! FOR(crunch)YOU SEE,(crunch)THIS IS(crunch)THE, INVISI(crunch)BLE..."

Your grin strains as the human marches towards you with complete disregard to the puzzle they were trampling over. They stop halfway across, staring at you with their closed eyes and their kinda creepy smile. Well, at least they seemed to be enjoying themself, so... mission accomplished?

Wait, no! Puzzles were supposed to be fun for the puzzlee, AND the puzzler! Surely the human would be having more fun by sharing their enjoyment, yes? Yes, definitely!

"YOU MUST BE HAVING CULTURE SHOCK," you inform them with an encouraging smile. "YOU SEE, WHERE I COME FROM, IT'S A LOVING TRADITION TO SUFFER THROUGH HORRIBLE PUZZLES FOR NO REASON!"

"SO, (crunch) UH, JUST (crunch) WALK BACK (crunch) THERE, AND..."

They stood before you, in clear defiance of your words, still staring at you with their ever frozen expression. A dreadful thought pops up in your mind. Perhaps there were humans out there who didn't enjoy puzzles?

You turn and sigh in dejection, shoulders slumped. "WHY COULDN'T WE GET A HUMAN THAT LIKES PUZZLES???" you ask to no one in particular before regretfully speeding off towards the next activity you had planned.

* * *

You watch your brother zip off down the path, making sure to keep the human shaped creature within the corner of your vision. Hearing Alphys's diagnosis you weren't particularly optimistic, but somehow it was still worse than you'd imagined. Irregular behavior was an understatement.

You glance at the creature. "it'd make my brother happy if you played along," you tell them, practiced aloofness masking the tension you felt. They don't bother giving you a response. You shrug nonchalantly. "wouldn't take a lot of your time, either. just a minute or two. play some games. solve some puzzles. who knows, you might even have... fun? waddya say, pal, sound good?"

The kid's smile twitches, a globule of black ooze trickling from the corner of their mouth. The two of you stand in uneasy silence as you wait for their reply. Finally, just as you start questioning the kid's ability to communicate, they speak.

 

"I've got better to do."

 

Five little words. An even, passionless tone. Everything about the creature's raspy voice, devoid of emotion, felt wrong to you. But they proved they were capable of holding conversation. Which meant you still had a chance.

"hey, i getcha. underground's a weird place for newcomers. i understand if you're not up for playing games right now. tell ya what, there's this great burger joint back where i'm from. how 'bout i show you 'round town, getcha settled in? food's on me." You hold your hand out to them, trying to act as inviting as you could. You were aware of the huge risk you were taking, offering to take the kid back to Snowdin. But even now you were still hoping this whole mess could be resolved with some goofy puzzles and a nice meal.

They tilt their head towards you ever so slightly. Their freakish smile cracks open. "I have somewhere to be," they say.

Another five words, but they were like a light in the darkness for you. Finally, you were learning about the human's motive straight from the human's own mouth. You had to try to continue this line of conversation.

"got places to be, huh? that's fine, too. but uh, just between you and me, not a lot of monsters are too keen on human's y'know? they won't bother you if you're with me though. so where're ya headed, kid? if it's somewhere i can take you i don't mind showing you the way."

"The capital."

"...sorry?"

"I'm going to the capital. I must see the king."

They turn towards you fully, and horrific, dripping, blackness stares at you. Their eyes are entirely covered with the dark, viscous liquid oozing down their face, giving all the impression of eyes melting, the liquid leaving streaks down their pale, dust-covered face. You freeze, hand outstretched, at the sight of the nightmare before you. Every bone in your body screams at you, every part of your being yells that the creature in front of you was not human,  _not human, **not human.**_

The not-human's smile widens. "Don't get in my way," they say, simply, before shambling down the path.

You stand there frozen for a minute after they leave, before slowly relaxing into something somewhat resembling your normal state. You place your hands back into your hoodie pockets as you try to digest these new bits of information.

 _Anomaly, killing everyone, heading to the palace,_ and _destroying the timeline._ These were the four concepts you retained from your nightmare-memories. So far the kid checked off two on the list. Was it just coincidence? You hoped so, but...

It'd been years now since you first became aware that your future was not in your hands. That no one's futures belonged to them. That everyone's futures were held hostage by the whims of the entity you called the "anomaly." And you never knew for sure who they were, or what they wanted, but so long as they existed, at any time, for any reason, time could just simply reset. Years lost, with not even memories to show for it. In a world like that, what meaning did choices have? What meaning did consequences have?

But now things were different. Whatever this "human" was they weren't the same anomaly you first discovered. The mechanism was different. For whatever reason, whenever this creature messed with time, you still retained the memories of the aborted timeline. And it was just a hypothesis, but you had some reason to believe the human held stronger sway over the timeline than even the previous anomaly.

A creature as strong as a human, with complete control over the timeline, and who may or may not be aiming to end all of existence? You couldn't simply brush this off as coincidence. You pull your phone out of your pocket and ring up one of the numbers on speed dial.

"Sans?" your friend on the other end of the line answers.

"did you catch that on the cameras?"

"Y-yeah. The symptoms are in line with advanced stage SOUL decay, b-but they seemed to still have a portion of their rationality. W-what do we... how should we proceed from here? Evacuate?"

"not everyone. just snowdin."

"Just Snowdin? But, w-why...?"

"i just need some buffer, alph. i don't have enough to make a decision yet. can you go ahead with the partial evacuation? i'll go and settle things on my end."

"...Eheh."

"alph? what's up?"

"Nothing, it's just, you're starting to sound like your old self again."

"heh, you too, y'know?"

"W-well, nothing like potential catastrophe to whip someone back in shape I guess?"

"hey, now you're starting to sound like _me_."

The two of you share a laugh together before steeling yourselves for the trials ahead.

"S-so all of Snowdin then?"

"yeah. tell me when you're finished. i'll try to stall the human until then.

"Got it, s-sending the order out."

"you're a lifesaver, alph."

"A-and make sure you stay out of trouble, Sans"

"always do. see ya, alph."

You end the call, sliding your phone back into your pocket. You grit your teeth as your eyes narrow in the direction the human shambled off towards.

Just till Snowdin. You'd give the kid all the way till Snowdin before you passed judgement on them. That gave you around three chances to meet again, three chances for the human to prove they weren't a threat to all existence.

And if after three meetings you still judged them to be dangerous?

You were going to show them a bad time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be like 700 characters shorter, what on earth even happened.


	15. A Memory of Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kid oughtta measure their words or someone might find their head smashed.

Just who exactly were those two skeletons from before? You were sure you didn't recognize them from the last time you were in the Underground. And yet, there was this strange sense of familiarity about them. They reminded you of someone, but... who?

You close your eyes trusting yourself to your strange visionless sight as you pore through your shattered memories. The tall, slim silhouette of someone you once knew lurks in the back of your mind.

You jolt in sudden recognition. So that was why the two seemed so familiar! Because they were so very similar to  _him_ _!_

They reminded you of the Royal Scientist-

* * *

_"-Doctor Gaster?"_

_The suited skeletal figure turns to you from his chair._

_"My, if it isn't Chara Dreemurr. Eager to resume work as usual."_

_"I feel I am as eager as I need to be."_

_"It's not a bad idea to relax here and there you know. The work isn't going anywhere after all."_

_"Time is."_

_"There is time for work and time for play, Chara. And we have time enough for work later. In the meantime, why not help me work through today's crossword?"_

_"...The Royal Scientist spends his work hours solving crossword puzzles?"_

_"Indeed. Word puzzles are a proper intellectual endeavor, here in the Underground. I'm sure Her Majesty has mentioned this in your history lessons, but although monsters and humans speak the same verbal language, us monsters have been using an entirely different lettering system until fairly recently. Even I, after all this time, still have difficulty adjusting."_

_"So... you're using word puzzles as a way to teach yourself English letters?"_

_"Precisely. Now, would you mind lending me a hand? The first hundred correct submissions win coupons for free popsicles."_

_"So it's all for the popsicles, then, is it!?"_

_"Now, Chara. You wouldn't think I'd not share them with you, would you?"_

_"That's not the issue at hand!"_

_Even though it had been three straight days of extensive testing until that point, neither human nor monster got much of anything done that day._

* * *

"HUMAN!" your brother calls out across the snow. "I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR..."

He pauses, before impatiently whispering to you out the corner of his mouth. "SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!?"

"it's right there," you whisper back. "on the ground. trust me. there's no way they'll skip this one."

You both watch the human as they shakily stumble towards the word search on the floor and...

Oh wow, they actually didn't skip it?

The human just stands there, staring at the word search with an ever so slightly puzzled expression, before turning back towards you.

"WHAT THE HECK!" your brother cries out in vexation. "THEY DIDN'T SKIP IT!?"

"i'm tellin ya," you say, speaking like you expected this all along. "everyone likes word searches."

"I CAN'T WORK IN THIS ENVIRONMENT!!" he gripes before stomping away towards his next puzzle. You watch him as he storms off before turning your attention back onto the human.

"guess despite all that, you still like word searches, huh?" You wink at them appreciatively. "that means you can't be all bad."

They say nothing in reply, and stare at you with an unreadable expression.

You shrug your shoulders, trying to dispel the nervousness settling in your stomach. "hey, what's that look supposed to mean? am i wrong...?"

You stand there in silence as you wait for the human's reply. Finally, their mouth parts.

 

"I told you to not get in my way."

 

They speak mechanically. Less like a person and more like some robotic doll. Their vacuous eyes lock onto your own. This time, it's their turn to await a response from you.

You chuckle testily. "sorry kid. but, uh,right now? getting in your way is in my job description."

The human pauses at your words. Their shoulders slowly hunch. Their grin slowly widens.

"woah, easy there, kiddo." you interject, pulling your hands out of your pockets and holding them up placatingly. "i told you earlier. i don't really care about capturing anybody. it's just a living, y'know?"

The kid stares you down with their vigilance raised, before slowly lowering their shoulders back down.

"i'm posted from here to waterfall. so we're stuck with each other 'til then." You put on your most disarming smile, hoping to pacify the human. "so you might as well take the time to relax. enjoy yourself. capital's not going anywhere after all." 

The kid starts at your words, widening their eyes in what looked like recognition. You raise an eye ridge, puzzled, before continuing on.

"so how 'bout it, kid? sound like fun?"

The kid says nothing for a minute or two , before simply walking past you. Well so much for that.

You sigh quietly as they pass. 

"well just so you know..." you begin.

The human stops.

"lotta monsters out there who take their job way more seriously than i do. one in particular, she's the type to never quit until the job's done. so, just outta curiosity..." You turn towards the human staring at the back of their head. "what's your plan for someone who'll keep standing in your way, no matter what?"

The human slowly turns their head towards you and meets your gaze dead on.

"If anyone gets in my way," they say in their eerie monotone. "I will move them out of the way."

Their eyes narrow.

"No matter who they are."

And with that they continue to walk down their path.

 

You watch that small figure continue to vanish in the distance with your fists balled and your teeth clenched. "so that's the way it's gonna be, eh?" you mutter under your breath. Your gaze turns steely.

"heh. strike one, kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to sleep.


	16. A Legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I suppose, in a sense, they really do get him, don't they?
> 
> Strike two.

_"uh, doc?"_ _your colleague calls into the Royal Scientist's study._

_You hear rustling coming from the other room. From out of the electronic sliding door, the elderly skeleton pokes out his head._

_"Sans. Alphys." he responds in his usual calm, intelligent voice. "Is there something the two of you need?"_

_Your friend lifts up the hyper-energetic baby skeleton flailing about in his arms. "a little help, please?" he asks._

_"Oh. Oh! Oh goodness, my apologies," the Royal Scientist replies, flustered, before erecting a small rectangular barrier around the thrashing toddler. As the tiny skeleton floats gently away from the two of you, you both collapse onto the floor._

_"thanks, doc,"  your friend wheezes. "you're a lifesaver." Exhausted yourself, you dab the sweat off your brow with your mother's handkerchief. "Just where does he keep all that energy anyways?" you ask._

_"beats me. we eat pretty much the same stuff. mostly. maybe it's all the oatmeal he goes through."_

_"You really really ought to yourself, Sans," chides the old skeleton. "It's far healthier than those fast food restaurants you frequent. Or rather," He looks at you two, puzzled. "If a barrier was all you required, I'm sure the two of you alone would suffice, correct?"_

_"well yeah,"_ _your friend admits. "but y'know. why not get the get the inventor of the bb magic casting system himself to do it instead, right?"_

_The old skeleton's lips curl in a miffed expression, before parting in an exasperated sigh. "I suppose it's my fault for asking two adolescents to babysit in a laboratory environment," he says. "But I do wish you wouldn't draw me away from my work over a simple barrier conjuration. Despite appearances I am a somewhat busy skeleton, after all."_

_"actually, doc, alph here had a question for you."_ _He winks in your direction as you jolt abruptly. "didn't you alph?"_

_"Alphys? Was there something you wanted to ask me?"_

_"Oh! I-it's nothing really, i-it's," you stutter nervously sending accusatory sidelong glance at your friend, who simply shrugs in response. "It's, uh, just a silly question, is all."_

_The doctor gives you a kindly smile. "There are no silly questions, Alphys. The desire for knowledge can never be considered a silly want. And, I am already here anyways, so you might as well ask, don't you think?"_

_You look alternatively at the doctor and your friend, almost as if asking for permission. "U-um," you begin. "What does 'BB' stand for, actually? I asked the professors at the University, but nobody seemed to know."_

_"Ah, I see. Well it's only natural they wouldn't know. Nobody knows what it stands for anymore."_

_You stare at the doctor with a funny expression, alternating your gaze between him and your friend, this time in confusion. "But, wha-? I, I thought you were the one who developed the BB magic casting system, right?"_

_The good doctor chuckles amicably. "You give me too much credit, Alphys. Certainly, I helped develop the BB magic casting system, but it was by no means a product of my efforts alone. In fact, it was a good friend and colleague of mine who coined the name."_

_"oh yeah, **that** colleague,"  your friend laughs. "alph, you oughtta hear some of the stories about this colleague. they really get me."_

_"Indeed," the doctor huffs with an uncharacteristically childish pout. "Daily I am left wondering how your personality got to become so similarly and so incorrigibly mischievous."_

_"Wait, so, if you of all people don't know what 'BB' stands for, then, that means they never told you?"_

_The doctor laughs, nostalgically. "Hmm, my colleague had a rather... playful nature, you see. Oftentimes, they would come up with all sorts of fanciful names, and then they would invite me to discern the meaning. However..." he trails off with a wistful expression. "They... passed on. Before I could figure that last bit out."_

_The mood in the room turned somewhat heavier, despite the antics of the infant skeleton rolling around in his personal barrier._

_"Who were they?" you ask quietly. "I never learned about them in school. They must've been pretty amazing, huh?"_

_ "sure was. from what i hear from the doc, they helped further our understanding of magic by centuries."  
_

_"Oh. Wow." Your gaze drops to floor as you twiddle your thumbs in a strange_ _embarrassment. "A-and to think. I don't even know their name."_

_"As per their wishes," the doctor replies. "They specifically asked that no record of their name or their contributions be disclosed to the general public."_

_"What!?" you jolt up in surprise. "But, why!?"_

_"Well, they were under some rather... unique circumstances at the time." The old doctor sighs. "Looking back, I believe it was probably a mistake, keeping all that we did together a secret but," he smiles, sadly, softly. "It was my dear friend's wish after all."_

_Your gaze drifts back down to the tiled floor below you. "So, someone as important to the history of magic as your colleague, they're just going to be forgotten? Just like that?"_

_"Alphys," the doctor begins, sitting down beside you and your friend. "You, and I, and everyone who's ever lived will be forgotten, someday. Even those who've left their names behind in history will not be spared from this fate. As the days go by, the way they spoke when only friends were around, the small hobbies they enjoyed in privacy, and all of those tiny little things that made up who they were as a person. All of that will disappear, in time.  
_

_"Yes, there will come a time when there is no one left who will remember the person that was once my friend. No one left to appreciate the contributions they've made to the advancement of magic. But even more important than their name, or their achievements, is the undeniable influence they've had upon me, and upon everyone else who once knew them. And now, here I am being, hopefully, a positive influence to you the two of you. And you, someday, to the people who know you, and them, someday, to the people who know them. And so on, and so on, and so forth."_

_He smiles in that warm, sagacious way of his. "Well?" he asks. "Is that not a far more powerful legacy?"  
_

_You ponder his words for a bit, mulling them over in you head, before smiling in reply. It was a somewhat nihilistic way of thinking, yes, but there was somehow a strange sort of comfort to it. You found yourself no longer sad for the doctor's colleague, but proud of, and grateful all that they'd accomplished in their life._

_"Well," the doctor cuts in, interrupting your train of thought. "Despite all I've just said, I don't believe my friend's name will be disappearing into obscurity any time soon. After all, there are still quite a few out there who remember them even now, I dare say."_

_ "...hey doc. what's that supposed to mean?"  
_

_"Hmm, an excellent question. Sans, Alphys, I invite the two of you to try discerning the meaning behind my words."_

_"Doctor!"_

_ "and you rag on  **me** for being mischievous."  
_

_"Ah, but I have an excuse. I've had mischievousness rubbed off on me."_

_"by that colleague of yours?"_

_"Well I never said they were always a good influence."_

_"yeah? i'm starting to think you're not always that great of an influence yourself."_

_"I accept no responsibility for the way you turned out, Sans. You've only yourself to blame for that awful sense of humor of yours, after all."_

_"well, maybe comedic talent skips a generation sometimes. sorry you missed out, doc."_

_"Ah. I have been maligned."  
_

_You watch the father-son comedic duo's light banter with a smile on your face before your expression freezes in sudden realization._

_"WAIT, SO IT'S **THEIR** FAULT WE'RE STUCK WITH ALL THESE STUPID ACRONYMS!?!" you cry out from your soul._

* * *

Staring from behind your wall sized monitor, you watch your friends confront the human over one of the many puzzles you've created as you nervously tap the tips of your fingers together.

It was madness, really. Trying to reason with a human in that kind of condition. While you didn't technically have enough enough data points to construct any meaningful sort of trend line, historically, a human displaying that level of degradation was operating under one, and one driving factor alone.

DETERMINATION.

You unconsciously tremble at the word, a reminder of a force too powerful to be trifled with, and the source of the greatest trauma of your life. And it was that same potent force that enslaved humans at that level of degradation. The doctor's notes were clear, at that stage, those afflicted moved with a single, concrete goal in mind. Until they had accomplished their goal, or until they realized by themselves that their goal was impossible, nothing, not even death could stop them.

That was the power the doctor proved humans possessed. The power to change fate. The power you called "Determination".

Your former colleague, Sans, was trying to find out what that goal was. And his brother Papyrus was... well, just being himself you supposed.

"HEY!" says the skeleton in question, the tinny quality of the audio doing nothing to contain the exuberance in his voice. "IT'S THE HUMAN!" He flashes what he no doubt thinks is a dashing smile as he gets ready to explain your puzzle. "YOUR GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT..." he tries to say as the human walks right over the inactive puzzle. You let out a nervous sigh. They were behaving exactly how you feared they would.

"...ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Papyrus asks to no on in particular. "SANS! HELP! THEY KEEP WALKING THROUGH MY PUZZLES! THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO LET ME EXPLAIN THEM, THEN THREATEN AND BAFFLE THEM WITH DANGEROUS JAPES!"

"well, maybe they don't like japes," your friend tries to explain.

"EVERYONE LIKES JAPES!" his brother retorts, matter-of-factly.

"what about undyne?" Sans counters, bringing up the hotheaded captain of the Royal Guard, a mutual friend of yours. "doesn't she hate puzzles?"

"SHE HATES PUZZLES. BUT SHE LOVES JAPES." 

Sans nods. "that makes sense."

"HUMAN! WHAT DO YOU THINK!?" Papyrus asks the human for their input. "PUZZLES OR JAPES?"

The human says nothing, only continuing to stare straight ahead with the same unsettling smile they always have on their face.

An awkward silence falls over the snowy hills as human and skeletons stare at each other. But Papyrus, never one to allow a silence to drag on for any time at all really, forcibly cuts back into it. 

"OKAY, THIS IS NORMALLY THE PART WHERE YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE. AND DEPENDING ON YOUR ANSWER, WE SAY SOMETHING GREAT IN RESPONSE!"

As if they couldn't hear him at all, the human continues to completely ignore Papyrus.

"... HERE, WHY DON'T YOU DO THIS PUZZLE YOURSELF?" Papyrus offers, setting your chicken scratch explanatory note in the snow and heading towards presumably his next planned jape.

He barely has time to leave the camera's view before the human starts trudging on after them.

"hey... puzzles might be fun. if you tried them," your friend informs them sarcastically as they pass by. The human simply continues, undeterred by your friend's thinly veiled hostility.

The basic microphone attached to your hidden camera barely picks up on your friend's dark laughter. "well, since your not from around," he says, spatially re-positioning himself directly in the human's path. "i oughtta show you how things are done here." His magic flares outward, constructing an elegant rectangular barrier around the human, shimmering in a characteristic iridescence. From over the monitor, you can almost visually detect the fluctuations resulting from your friend's casual show of force. "this is a magic barrier," he explains. "it's a little trick an old friend of mine came up with, a while back. At his words, the human twitches, but you can't tell from what. "nowadays, just about everyone in the underground knows how to use it," he continues. "'s good for focusing magical energy, amping the power, and well..." Your friend grins impishly. "keeping humans like you locked in one place. well, just having it out like this gets pretty draining, y'know? but i bet you'll find a couple monsters here and there who can keep this up for as long as they like.

"so here's another question for you, kid. if i don't feel like dropping this barrier for another day or two, whatcha gonna do about it?"

The human's ironically inhuman smile widens, the corrupted SOUL discharge spilling over blackened lips and leaking out from empty eyes. They walk towards the edge of the barrier, facing your friend, placing their hand against the magical wall of force, and with deliberate, and practiced ease they

_push through the barrier._

Your eyes widen in shock in horror, mirroring the expression your friend wore. You watch, helpless, as the distance between that logic-defying nightmare creature and your friend slowly closed. They stop, mere inches from the short skeleton and, slowly craning their neck to face him, their discordant, jarring voice quietly slips out.

"I told you. Don't slow me down."

The sound was like nails on a chalkboard. Like their voice was at war with itself, fighting just to escape their lips. Their body tenses, and even from the other side of the monitor, you could feel the overwhelming magical pressure the human was letting spill out of them, threatening to lash out and blast apart anything standing in its way.

By reflex, your friend spatially displaces himself backwards, raising his hands in mock surrender. "woah. hey. my bad," he says in his usual aloof manner. "hey look, you don't have to give an answer if you don't wanna. well, i mean,"

His eyeridges narrow dangerously. "you already gave your answer, didn't you?" He chuckles mirthlessly. "'no matter who they are,' right?"

The human's only response is that unnatural smile of theirs. Without another word, they continue down their path. When the human is well and truly gone from your sight, your friend pulls his phone out of his pockets. He dials a number and puts his phone next to the side of his face, and to the left of your keyboard, your own phone starts to ring.

"H-hello?" you answer.

"hey. saw all of that?"

"Yeah, but it... it doesn't make any sense! From what we understand about the structure of magic, humans shouldn't be able to use magic under normal conditions! There's no precedent! And, and what they did to the barrier... According to the records, that level of magical control should be impossible!"

"right. none of the other humans were able to use magic from the start, so why can they? guess that makes them a record-breaker, huh?"

"Sans!"

"alph, you heard what they wanted, right?"

"Wha? Uh, yeah, they wanted to meet Asgore, right? Couldn't... couldn't we just, let them?"

"no. we can't."

"But Sans, you saw how they were! Th-they're not gonna stop until they get what they want!"

"listen, i've got a... hypothesis. and hopefully i'm wrong. but if i'm not, then we've both got a lot of work to do. sorry, but, could you just trust me for now?"

"...Alright, but y-you'd better have an explanation for all this later, okay? N-no more keeping me in the dark about what you're doing, Sans. Please?"

"...yeah. no more. i, uh, definitely owe you an explanation, huh?"

 

"hey alph?"

"Y-yeah?"

"thanks. for having my back."

"Well. That's what friends do, right?"

"...yeah. you're the best, alph. cya."

The connection ends, and you quietly set your phone back down on your desk. You man your monitor, fingers hovering over your keyboard, as you wait at the ready for the next call. 

_That's what friends do?_

You think to yourself. No, more than that, that's what  _he_  would've done, in your situation. The doctor was gone, but you hadn't forgotten him. Years of effort and now here you were. Standing where he once stood, in his old laboratory, in his old position. And now it was your turn to finish the work he'd left behind.

You weren't sure if you could do it. You've never had that much faith in yourself. But in honor of the great influence he was to you, in order to help your friends-

You definitely were going to try

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 4 in the morning on a school night. Finals week is coming up soon. I've got 18 credit hours worth of exams to deal with and I'm sitting here, writing trash fanfiction. Where did I go wrong in life.
> 
> Anyways, here's a thing, I guess. Been a while, huh?
> 
> Also don't think particularly hard about skeletons and lips, please. Though that might be asking for too much, considering this fandom.
> 
>  
> 
> Hey, wasn't this chapter a three act structure, or whatever? Hah! That's not even remotely related to my major!


	17. Headstrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to show off a little of what you're capable of.

f

_"hey doc. here are the lab reports for this week."_

_"I see."_

_"we just got the readings back. that's why they're not in the reports. it matches the data we got from last time, so the readings are probably accurate."_

_"I see."_

_"and you already know the deal, but here's the revised 'theory of inter-existential interaction'. after we started treating time like a vector quantity, we fixed a lot of inconsistencies. now our predictions match the data."_

_"I see."_

_"well, that's all i've got to report."_

_"I see. Then if you don't mind, I have a question for you."_

_"for me? well, shoot, i guess."_

_"Hmm. Sans."_

_ "yeah?" _

_"I am aware that we are both skeletons."_

_"yeah."_

_"And I am aware that, unlike other magical creatures, we don't possess a means to vocalize our thoughts."_

_"yeah."_

_"And due to this fact, we skeletons have developed a non-vocal method to transmit our intentions."_

_"yeah."_

_"However, moving our jaws acts as the somatic trigger to our semi-telepathic communication."_

_"yeah."_

_"And skipping that key step requires a considerable amount of practice."_

_"yeah."_

_"So then, my question to you is this: Did you honestly spend actual months training in secret just to be able to talk without breaking your grin?"_

_"...yeah?"_

_"In any of the parallel existences that may be, has there ever been any other willing to dedicate so much to accomplish so little?"_

_"are you hoping so?"_

_"Who can say? ...In all honesty, I can see a bit of myself in you. If none of my research ends up coming to fruition... well I suppose I'd no longer be able to scold you about pointless effort."_

_"...doc, you okay?"_

_"Perhaps? Well, no need to pay attention to an old monster's ramblings. When you live as long as I have you can not help but have misgivings towards your future."_

_"hey, uh, if there's anything you need help with, i'm, uh, here."_

_"...Sans. Are you offering to help with my research?"_

_"yeah, i know i've never helped out with your share of the work, but, y'know..."_

_"To think that you'd express interest in my research. Well."_

 

_"It's about time."_

 

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"it's about time. it's about time, huh? was all of that just a setup for a pun?"_

_"The key to comedy is in the timing, Sans. And I wrote my thesis on that subject."_

_"i see. well 'it's about time' i went to bed."_

_"Ah, no, I actually could very much use your help, Sans!"_

_"g'night doc."_

_"Ah, how I suffer for my craft!"_

* * *

"so," you say to your brother as the two of you overlook a long, forlorn bridge. "what makes you think the human's gonna come through here? seems dangerous."

"NYEHEHEH! THERE ARE THREE REASONS!"

"FIRST, THE LOCATION! THIS BRIDGE IS THE SHORTEST PATH TO SNOWDIN!"

"okay. but what if they take the long way around?"

"AHA! SECOND, I HAVE BEEN OBSERVING THE HUMAN'S BEHAVIOR! AND I HAVE CONCLUDED THAT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE ANYTHING BUT THE SHORTEST ROUTE!"

Oh? Impressive work, you think. Your brother has the human down to a 'T'.

"and lastly?"

"THIS BRIDGE IS LONG, NARROW, AND PRECARIOUS! A PERFECT SPOT FOR JAPERY! NO ONE COULD POSSIBLY RESIST THE TEMPTATION!"

"...yeah you're probably right."

And right on cue the human shows up, just like your brother predicted.

"HUMAN!" he yells across the bridge. "THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE!" He poses dramatically, letting his scarf billow in the updraft. "BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"

At his words a collection of all sorts of dangerous contraptions slide into view. Harpoons, flamethrowers, cannons, and even that annoying dog that keeps pilfering your brother's stuff. Your gaze drifts up the ropes and chains keeping the spears and spiked balls suspended in the air as you idly wonder whether or not they were actually attached to the Underground's ceiling. You wouldn't put it past your brother.

"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, THEY WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!" he says, the sparkles in his eyes nearly audible. "CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN!"

He folds his arms over his chest, pulling a handheld remote trigger from out of his scarf. "ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!" He thrusts his gloved hand outward, pointing at the human triumphantly. "ARE YOU READY!? BECAUSE!"

"I!"

"AM!"

"ABOUT!"

"TO DO IT!"

 

...

 

Nothing happens. Nothing moves. Not you, your brother, the human, no one. The only moving object is the dog, happily rotating back and forth. 

You turn to your brother. "well? what's the holdup?" you ask him.

"HOLDUP!?" he cries indignantly. "I'M... I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!"

 

Still, nothing happens.

 

"that, uh, doesn't look very activated."

"WELL! ...THEY'RE PROBABLY GOING TO WALK THROUGH IT," he sighs, slumping in a dejected manner. "AND IT WON'T BE ANY FUN AT ALL." He really _really_  had the human down to a 'T'.

"so this human thing was a bust, huh?"

"WELL, I MEAN, I'M EXCITED TO CAPTURE THEM. SO I'LL BECOME A FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN! BUT, ALL THE TIME I PUT INTO THESE PUZZLES... IT'S KINDA LIKE THROWING A BIRTHDAY PARTY..."

"without traps and fire?" you add helpfully.

"EXACTLY!!!" your brother shouts. "IT'S POINTLESS!!!"

He hangs his head, sighing once more. "MAYBE YOU WERE RIGHT TO BE LAZY ABOUT PUZZLES." Woah, red flag, red flag. Couldn't let that kind of thinking continue.

"me? right about something?" you ask provokingly. "really?"

Your brother thinks it over for a brief moment, before bouncing back up in his usual energetic manner. "YEAH! WHAT AM I SAYING!" he laughs. "YOU'RE STILL COMPLETELY WRONG! I JUST HAVE THE WRONG AUDIENCE! THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH FUN UNDYNE WOULD HAVE HERE! FLAMES, VIOLENCE, IT'S RIGHT UP HER ALLEY!"  


He turns back to the human still standing on the bridge. "SO I WON'T WASTE THIS PUZZLE ON YOU," he informs them. "I JUST HAVE TO APPRECIATE THE FRIEND I ALREADY HAVE!!"

The deadly contraptions slide out of view as Papyrus twirls into another dramatic pose. "A VALUABLE LIFE LESSON! NYEH HEH HEH!!!" Your brother turns and marches off, head held high.

You watch his receding figure disappear into the forest before turning to the human stiffly crossing the bridge. It was kinda funny. If you had to classify the human's gait, you'd call it a march, just like your brother's. It amazed you just how different were the impressions the two gave. How was it possible that a person's way of walking could feel so empty, so mechanical, so  _soulless?_  You contemplate the irony of a skeleton being more lively than a flesh-and-blood human.

They march on, entirely unaffected by sheer height of the bridge, entirely unaffected by chill of the air, only stopping when they reach the end of the bridge, where you stand in the way.

"hmm..." you lead off. "guess we didn't need your help to have a good time after all." The human doesn't give any sort of response, but at this point you'd be shocked if they did. 

"say. i've been thinking." You stare at them intently. "seems like you're still planning to visit the capital. right now? i can't stop you." You laugh in self-deprecation. "probably no one in the underground can. but that's not gonna stop anyone except me from trying." You walk slowly towards them, in a grim parody of their own determined march. "by now i've got a pretty good idea of what you're capable of. you're the type of person who'll get up even if they... 'fall down' if you know what i mean. Their eyes almost imperceptibly widen, but you don't miss it. That's the reason why you walked so close to them, just to pick up on those almost imperceptible details. Now your suspicious were all but confirmed.

"heh, you do, don't you. but there's no way you know everything about us monsters, is there? so here's some friendly advice. just so you can't say i didn't warn you."

"kid. if you keep going the way you are now..."

Your magic suddenly, violently, explodes. Countless metaphysical tendrils, each one filled with dense magical power, fly out and latch onto the space-time around you. Your magic weighs down on the truths of the world, intruding upon the sanctity of the laws of physics, and in a wide sphere surrounding the two of you,

 

time

 

stops.

 

 

You stare into the human's eyes in your world of frozen time. This was your trump card. Your ace in the hole. Within your range of influence, all manner of attack became meaningless. Movement was impossible. Magic was impossible.

Even for you.

Even though your consciousness was unaffected by this ability, you couldn't ignore its imposed limitations. Even though you could still manipulate magical energy, it took all your concentration just to keep time locked in place. But despite all this, there was one thing you could still do.

You could still speak.

Did you know? All those years ago, when you practiced and practiced for your stupid party trick. Did you know that years later, that ability of yours would become useful? No, how could you? It was just one of life's many bizarre coincidences.

And the result of that bizarre coincidence was before you. You stand before the human, locked in time, and with mouth un-moving, you whisper directly into their brain.

"you're gonna have a bad time."

You quickly retract your magic, relinquishing your grasp on time. The tendrils of magical energy whip back like snapped rubber bands. With the excess magic power surrounding you, you warp far, far away from the human before they even have the chance to blink.

With ragged, uneven breaths, you steady yourself against a dark, damp wall, exhausted from the use of your ability. As powerful as it was, stopping time was incredibly draining, especially when you weren't in optimal form.

You wait for your breath to settle somewhat, before pulling out your phone and calling a friend.

"Sans?" she answers.

"do it. evacuate. everyone. fast as you can."

"Y-you used  _that_ _?_ "

"just a hunch. human's. even more dangerous. than i thought."

"You used that amount of magic power just to  _test a hunch!?_ _"_

"if you want the results, you'll have to wait, for the lab report."

"Sans!"

You break into a fit of hoarse laughter, which in turn, breaks into a fit of gasping coughs.

"...Sans?"

"hey alph," you begin, after catching your breath. "y'know how you said that the human shouldn't be able to use magic? well, some of the previous humans were able to use magic, right?"

"What? But that was only after they spent days in the Underground! Determination, the source of a human's power, is very difficult to convert into usable magical energy, which is why LOVE is required to act as a catalyst! You helped develop the theory, Sans!"

"so your saying when a human first shows up in the underground, they can't use magic, right? then  what if it's not the human's first time in the underground?"

"... Oh god, you don't mean... the work we did with Doctor Gaster?"

"timelines jumping left and right, starting and stopping. alph, i think we found our anomaly."

"T-then, if they reach the capital?"

"my opinion? that's the point where everything ends."

"..."

You hear your friend's increasingly shallow and frenetic breathing over the phone. Her individual breaths increase in intensity and from the muffled thunk from over the line, you imagine that she's slumped over, trying to make sense of her situation.

"alph?" you ask tentatively.

"-freak out, don't freak out, Alphys you do not... You do not have the  ** _time_  **to waste, freaking out!"

With one last sigh, she composes herself, but she can't hide the traces of unconscious, manic laughter from her voice.

"No, we're fine, everything's fine. If the human hasn't reached the capital yet, then that means we... in different timelines, that means we stopped them, right? Okay. We just have to stop them again. No big deal."

There's a pang in your heart when you hear your friend's voice, strained almost to the breaking point. But stronger than that pang was the immense pride you felt for her. You really could always count on Alphys, when it really mattered.

"yeah. that's right. we just have to stop them again. no big deal." You laugh, ironically more genuinely than you're used to. "and we'll keep stopping them until they stop for good."

"Okay. Right. We're gonna be fine. I'm going to send the evacuation notice now. A-and I'll c-call Undyne and uh..."

"oh, i'll do that. i'll ask her to keep papyrus safe."

"Oh. Really? ...Y-yeah, that's good. I'll, uh, contact Asgore then. I'll warn him about the human."

"sound's good, alph. i guess we've both got our jobs to do."

"Yeah. Okay. D-don't forget our promise, Sans."

"heh, wouldn't dare. see ya, alph."

"Yeah. Stay safe."

You end the call, slumping to the floor in a sitting position. There was a whole mess of things you had left to do. Grab Papyrus and keep him somewhere safe, assemble the Royal Guard and place them in strategic positions, obtain a sample of Determination, and the list went on. This was already undoubtedly the most work you've done in several years. You really, really wanted to just take a nap and wake up with everything fixed tomorrow.

There wouldn't even be a tomorrow if you slacked off now.

You stood up, determination renewed. Gaster had always called you one of the most stubborn people he knew. Well then it was time to put that title to the test. This was a battle to see, between you and the human, which one of you was more stubborn. So what if the human could reset time? The outcome will never change, no matter how many times they try.

You would make sure of it.

You slowly walk down the dark halls of Waterfall, gathering your magic for another jump. You dial another number on your phone, waiting for Royal Guard on the other end to pick up.

"hey undyne. it's sans. listen, about papyrus..."

You warp yourself to your next destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead, but college is making me wish I was. Anyways, here's a chapter.
> 
> Time-stopping powers? Wow, how creative! That's gotta be the most original idea in ZA WARUDO-
> 
> sorry, don't know where that came from.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, did I just justify talking as a free action? I think I did, woho.


End file.
